/In Outline for the Study 

OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY 
WISDOM and WORSHIP 



\NK SEAY 



1 



1 




Class 

Book 

Copyrights 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



AN OUTLINE 

FOR THE STUDY OP 

OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY, 
WISDOM, AND WORSHIP 



FRANK SEAY 

Professor in the School of Theology of 
Southern Methodist University 



Nashville, Tenn. 

Dallas, Tex. ; Richmond, Va. 

Publishing House of the M. E. Church, South 

Smith & Lamar, Agents 

1919 






Copyright, 1919 

BY 

Smith & Lamar 



DtC lb 1919 



>CI.A536959 



cr- 

i 

2 



This Book Is Dedicated 
to Those for Whom It 
Is Especially Written— 

THE YOUNG PREACHERS OF SOUTHERN 
METHODISM 



PREFACE 

The present study is not a treatise about the Bible, 
but a guide to the study of the Bible itself. It pre- 
supposes a desire to know not merely certain passages 
and proof texts, but the Old Testament as a whole — 
its contents and its purpose and message in its final 
form. It is believed that a thorough mastery of these 
should precede detailed criticism of particular books 
or sources and questions of authorship and date. 
The subject matter usually covered under the title 
of "Introduction to the Old Testament" should be, 
in this view, not introductory, but a systematic in- 
quiry of a more advanced kind. Such matters are 
therefore avoided, and the attempt is made to get 
a view of the Old Testament that will hold, whatever 
may be one's present or later position on questions 
of authorship and the like. 

The outline here given aims, moreover, to be a 
stimulus to further study and a preparation therefor. 
The amount of time devoted to the mastery of the 
present outline might well be devoted to a single 
book of the Bible. Especially should the preacher's 
chief study be his Bible; and unless he is stirred to a 
more definite and detailed systematic study of par- 
ticular books and phases of the Old Testament, the 
present work will have failed in one of its central 
purposes. 

This book is written at the request of the College 
of Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 

(5) 



G An Outline of Old Testament 

South, for use in the course of study for itinerant 
and local preachers; but it is hoped that it may be 
found useful as well for courses in the Old Testament 
in schools and colleges, for advanced classes in Sun- 
day schools and other organizations, and also to 
individuals who in private study wish a general 
survey of the Old Testament by a first-hand study 
of the Old Testament material itself. 

The above is adapted from the Preface to the 
author's "Outline for the Study of Old Testament 
History," to which the present work is a companion 
volume. The two together cover the entire Old 
Testament, but each is a unity in itself. Gradually 
it is being felt by scholars that the proper place for 
beginning the study of the Old Testament is not 
with the Old Testament history, but with the 
prophets. It is suggested, therefore, that in college 
courses and the like the present volume be studied 
first. 

The title, "An Outline for the Study of Old Tes- 
tament Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship," is not all- 
inclusive, but as a longer statement would be some- 
what cumbersome, and as these are the phases of 
central interest, this title is considered best. 

The author has in places followed his "Story of 
the Old Testament," and frequent repetitions from 
the "Outline for the Study of Old Testament His- 
tory" and from earlier sections of the present volume 
are to be found. Such repetition may mar the 
literary unity of the work; but it is demanded by 
the most scientific pedagogy, and the author's pur- 
pose is, of course, a pedagogical one. This purpose, 



Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 7 

indeed, has fashioned many things in the book that 
to the advanced student may seem illogical and un- 
scientific. 

Acknowledgments are hereby made not only to 
the works quoted and referred to in the footnotes, 
but to all Old Testament scholars whose works the 
author has read. Especial thanks are due to Bishop 
Edwin D. Mouzon and Mrs. Frank Seay for careful 
reading of the manuscript and valuable suggestions, 
and to Mr. King Vivion for aid in the verification 
of references. Frank Seay. 

Dallas, Tex., May 24, 1919. 



SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS AND 
STUDENTS 

The present outline is not for easy reading, but 
for study. In fact, one can hardly master any 
literature of a different age and clime from one's 
own without more than a casual reading. Bible 
stories are serviceable for immature minds, but the 
maturer student should aim to know the fundamen- 
tal messages of the Bible itself; critical discussions 
about the Bible are in order for those who have 
mastered its contents, but these should be preceded 
by a familiarity with the Bible text itself, and to 
that end an outline of some kind is a valuable aid. 
Therefore: 

1. For the best work every one should use a wide- 
margin Revised Version of the Bible. The American 
Standard rendition is, in spite of some objections 
frequently made to it, the most accurate English 
translation of the Old Testament and is therefore 
recommended. 

2. Mark your Bibles (a) by writing in the margins 
a title for the various paragraphs. It is well to print 
the main heads and write the subheads. Use either 
the paragraph headings suggested in the textbook 
or your own headings, (b) By underscoring pas- 
sages to which, for any reason, you wish to call at- 
tention for later thought, (c) By writing at the 
bottom or top of the pages other notes or questions 
for later study. 

(»/ 



10 An Outline of Old Testament 

3. The chapters, sections, and paragraphs are 
arranged according to the requirements of the sub- 
ject matter. The chapters are not used for refer- 
ences; for convenience of reference the sections are 
made continuous throughout the book. The section 
numbers and headings are in black-faced type, and 
the pararaphs are marked with the paragraph sign 
(If). Individual classes and students have different 
needs and abilities, and the lessons should be ar- 
ranged to suit each case. 

The Biblical material is so large as to furnish al- 
most too much ground for a single course for less 
advanced students. In such cases, it is suggested 
that the book might be divided into two shorter 
courses, one on the prophets and the other on the re- 
mainder of the Biblical material used in the book. 
A judicious instructor may find it wise to shorten his 
course by omitting certain portions of the study or 
by sketching some of the material more cursorily. 
This is especially so with the detail priestly pre- 
scriptions. The author has made no suggestions in 
this regard, because the original purpose of the study 
as contemplated by the course of study for young 
Methodist preachers involved a reading of the whole 
Bible, and because, further, the needs of classes 
vary so widely that the amount and character of 
such omissions should be left to the individual in- 
structor. 

4. In every Bible passage the student should aim 
first of all to get the contents. The outline should be 
taken as a guide to that end. It is not intended to 
summarize the Bible text, but to lead to a mastery 



Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 11 

of the text itself. One should aim at a general view, 
leaving more detailed questions for later study. If, 
however, these questions persist in the mind, the 
commentaries may be consulted. Do not follow 
the outline slavishly. Look for other viewpoints in 
the Bible passages and learn to get the peculiar 
message of each to your own mind. 

5. Wherever the textbook says "Read" or "Com- 
pare," read carefully the passage referred to. It 
is easy to get into the habit of omitting some 
because the reference seems familiar or for other 
reasons. By such omission the student loses much. 
The rereading of a familiar passage may give one a 
new point of view, and often the passage is not as 
familiar as was thought. 

6. The book for convenience contains three kinds 
of footnotes: (a) Stars (*), which are used simply 
to give references to the books and pages from which 
passages are quoted; (b) superior figures, which are 
used for notes of general or pedagogical interest; 
and (c) letters, to indicate notes of a more advanced 
or technical kind. This scheme of footnotes enables 
each reader to pass over such as may not be of im- 
mediate interest, and thus obviates the tendency 
of frequent footnotes to break into the continuity 
of a passage. 

7. Attention is called to the Bibliography in the 
back of the book for those wishing further study. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Chapter I Page 

Amos, the Harbinger of a New Era and the Preacher of 
a God of International and Social Justice 15 

Chapter II 
Hosea, the Prophet of a Forlorn Love 27 

Chapter III 
Micah of Moresheth in Judah 36 

Chapter IV 
Isaiah 42 

Chapter V 
Jeremiah - 69 

Chapter VI 
Ezekiel 85 

Chapter VII 
Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi 102 

Chapter VIII 

The Prophets of the Overthrow of Heathen Nations and 
the Vindication of Israel 113 

Chapter IX 

Jonah, the High Water Mark of the Old Testament's 
Wider Outlook 125 

Chapter X 

Daniel and the New Divine World Order 133 

(13). 



14 An Outline of the Old Testament 

Chapter XI Page 
The Legal and Priestly Enactments and Ideals 146 

Chapter XII 

The Prophetic and Priestly Narratives of the Old Testa- 
ment 172 

Chapter XIII 
Types of Literature in the Old Testament 185 

Chapter XIV 
The Wisdom Books: Proverbs 197 

Chapter XV 
The Wisdom Books: Ecclesiastes and Job 216 

Chapter XVI 
The Lamentations and the Song of Songs 235 

Chapter XVII 

The Book of Psalms, the Climax of Old Testament Reli- 
gious Devotion 246 

Appendix 
Bibliography 267 



AN OUTLINE FOR THE STUDY OF OLD 
TESTAMENT PROPHECY, WIS- 
DOM, AND WORSHIP 



CHAPTER I 

AMOS, THE HARBINGER OF A NEW ERA AND THE 

PREACHER OF A GOD OF INTERNATIONAL 

AND SOCIAL JUSTICE 

§ 1. The God of History and of the Nations of Earth. 

Amos 1 and 2. 

Ifl. Who was Amos and when did he prophesy? 

Read Amos 1:1. 

There is a local as well as a national dating. Com- 
pare the phrase "two years before the earthquake" 
with "before the war/' "since the storm/' and the 
like modern provincial datings. The exact dates 
are not known. It is sufficient for the present pur- 
pose that Amos lived and prophesied during the 
earlier or the middle period of the eighth century. 
Takoa was a wilderness country about twelve miles 
south of Jerusalem. While, therefore, Amos proph- 
esied in Israel, his home was in Judah. 

If 2. Amos's arraignment of Israel. 

(1) The higher forms of speech and writing come 
from humble beginnings. The Greek drama grew 
out of the orgies and festivals of Dionysus, the god 
of wine and vegetation, and even the plays of Shake- 
speare are a development from this same source 
mediated by the dull didactic miracle plays of the 

(15) 



16 An Outline of Old Testament [§ 1 

Middle Ages. The modern novel seems, strange to 
say, hardly more a development from the older 
romance and poem-story than from the habit of 
letter-writing. The prophecies of Amos do not form 
themselves on the same basis as the early Church 
homily and its descendant, the modern sermon, but 
on the basis of the ancient oracle -poem. The 
preaching of Amos would have been an anachronism 
cast in the mold of the modern sermon. The people 
were familiar with the primitive priestly and 
prophetic oracles, and this was the natural form for 
the message of Amos to take. Picture him at a 
memorable Israelite feast uttering a series of short 
oracles against the nations of the ancient world. 

Note his diplomatic skill. He begins by condemn- 
ing those his hearers wished most strongly to see 
punished — Israel's determined foes: Damascus, the 
capital of Syria; Gaza of Philistia; Tyre; Edom; 
Ammon; Moab. After a vague, much -debated 
reference to Judah, which might make a few wise 
heads discern the direction of his discourse, the 
prophet comes home with a stroke as sudden and 
as telling as Nathan's "Thou art the man." (2 Sam. 
12:7.) 

With these points in mind read Amos 1:2 to 2:8. 

(2) Was the sin of the foreign nations the worship 
of idols? or cruelty and the violations of principles 
of social justice? Note that in the case of Ammon 
not only the cruelty but the motive of the warfare 
seems to be condemned. What was that motive? 
Is there in this any especial message for the present 
world situation? Note that in the case of Moab, 



J[2] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 17 

at least, a nation is condemned for a crime committed 
not against Israel but against another foreign people. 
In view of these facts, is Jehovah to Amos a God of 
the Hebrews only or of other nations also? Are 
his dealings with men based upon considerations of 
favoritism and ritual, or of morality and social 
justice? 

(3) Does the same standard of social justice that 
applies to the nations apply to Israel as well? What 
was Israel's sin? Elijah had condemned a king for 
the murder of a subject and the wanton confiscation 
of his estate; but Amos goes far beyond this. Burn 
into your memory the last half of Amos 2:6. The 
same things that foreign nations had done to Israel 
and to one another, the richer and more powerful 
group in Israel had done to the weaker. "God con- 
demns as much the one course as the other," is the 
prophet's announcement. 

Some recent scholars, accentuating the social 
interest, have tried to make the Old Testament 
prophets the fathers of democracy. This is only 
partly the case. The Hebrew prophets seem to 
have acted upon a theory of the divine right of 
kings, just as they assume a regime of slavery and 
just as Abraham and Jacob practiced polygamy. 
They deemed the king the anointed of Jehovah. 
The fathers of the theoretical principles of democ- 
racy are the Greeks, not the Hebrews. Yet the 
heart of democracy is sympathy and pity for the 
poor and oppressed. This, not the Greeks, but 
the Hebrews championed. Democracy's heart is, 
perhaps, more important than its head; and Amos's 
2 



18 An Outline of Old Testament [§2 

cry for social justice and pity is the heart of de- 
mocracy, and is, not less than the writings of Plato, 
the forerunner of the utterances of Woodrow Wilson 
in 1917-18. 

1f3. Why was Israel's sin especially heinous? 

Read Amos 2:9-12. 

The basis of Israel's religion in Amos's view is 
not merely in the fact that Jehovah is the national 
God, but is in requirements of gratitude for especial 
acts of national deliverance. This emphasis is pre- 
eminently characteristic of the prophetic viewpoint. 

114. What will be the outcome of Israel's sin? 

Read Amos 2:13-16. 

Note the vigorous, terse phrases. Amos always 
expresses himself like a master. 

1} 5. Some scholars think these two chapters were 
never spoken, but were a written prophetic message; 
others think they are a collection of short oracles 
spoken at different times, or contain inserts of ora- 
cles composed at different times. In any case, in 
the form in which they now appear, they constitute 
an adroit and masterly presentation of a powerful 
and epoch-making message. 

Read the two chapters through again in the light 
of your study. 

§ 2. The Philosophy and Rationale of the Coming Pun- 
ishment of Israel; The "Hear This Word" Oracles. 

Amos 3 to 6. 

fl. The setting of the prophecy. 
(1) Note that, while at recurring intervals in 
chapters 1 and 2 the phrase "Thus saith Jehovah" 



jfl] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 19 

occurs, in this section the phrase "Hear this word" 
introduces the several divisions. 
Read 3:la ? 4:1a, 5:1a. 

(2) An economic revolution had just caused the 
passing of the older independence of the peasantry 
with their small holdings and the concentration of 
wealth into the hands of the few with its consequent 
luxury. 

Read Amos 3:12b and 15, and 5:11. 

(3) The popular doctrine is that Israel is Jehovah's 
people : he has blessed her with prosperity and wealth. 

Read 2 Kings 14 : 23 and 25. 

"Israel only hath Jehovah known of all the fam- 
ilies of the earth," they thought, "and Jehovah will 
soon crown his present blessings with a coming 
glorious day." To this popular doctrine Amos 
opposes a startling message: what is it? 

Read Amos 3:2; read also 5:18. 

Evidently Amos and the people followed IsraeFs 
unique relation to Jehovah with different "there- 
fores," and they expected different kinds of days of 
Jehovah. This contrast explains how startling and 
revolutionary was his message in chapters 1 and 2. 

(4) "If Jehovah is angry with Israel [as, according 
to the Moabite stone, Chemosh was* with Moab], 

*Quoted in the "Outline for the Study of Old Testa- 
ment History," page 147, from Mercer's "Extra Biblical 
Sources for Hebrew and Jewish History," page 148. For 
a key to the different kinds of footnote designations in 
this volume see the Suggestions to Teachers and Stu- 
dents on pages 9 to 11, paragraph 6. If you have not 
read these Suggestions carefully, do so now. Indeed, it 



20 An Outline of Old Testament [§2 

surely gladsome sacrificial feasts and many offerings 
would win him over," thought the people; but Amos 
has no such view. 

Read Amos 4:4, 5 and 5:4-6. 

Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba were sacred shrines 
of Israelitish worship. 

Tf2. The oracles. 

Noting that the three main counts in Amos's 
indictment of Israel are (a) violence and oppression, 
(b) dependence on ritual and sacrifices rather than 
on justice and right as a means of winning God's 
favor, and (c) luxury and wantonness, 

Read Amos 3 to 6. 

Consider particularly (a) the prophet's stirring 
call to righteousness and religion (Amos 5:4-9 and 
14, 15), (6) his pronouncement of judgment (3:11-15, 
4:6 to 5:3, 5:16-20 and 27), (c) his terse quotable 
sentences and vivid imagery (3: 2-6 and 12, 5:19, 20). 
Note also 4:1, of which George Adam Smith* says, 
"It is a cowherd's rough picture of women: a troop 
of kine — heavy, heedless animals, trampling in their 
anxiety for food upon every frail and lowly object 
in the way. But there is a prophet's insight into 
character. Not of Jezebels, or Messalinas, or Lady 
Macbeths is it spoken, but of the ordinary matrons 
of Samaria. Thoughtlessness and luxury are able 
to make brutes out of women of gentle nurture, with 
homes and a religion." 

is well to read them frequently in the course of your 
study. 

*The Expositor's Bible, "The Twelve Prophets," Vol. 
1, page 148. 



ft 3] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 21 

§ 3. The Visions and the Controversy. 

Amos 7 to 9. 

%1, The first two sections of Amos, as has been 
seen, contain a series of oracles introduced by the 
phrases 'Thus saith Jehovah' ' and "Hear this word," 
respectively. Harper* calls the second section 
"The sermons." By this term he rightly indicates 
that they are a further departure than chapters 
1 and 2 from the primitive poem-oracle in the direc- 
tion of the sermon. The third section is a series of 
visions, and as such become the forerunner of 
another type of prophetic literature to be met later 
in more developed form in the Apocalypses. 

Read Amos 7: la, 4a, and 7a, 8: la; and 9: la, whose 
different phraseology indicates even more clearly its 
vision-character, the vision itself being, indeed, of 
a more developed sort. The vision may be the oldest 
form of the oracle. 

Compare 1 Kings 22:17 and 19-23; Numbers 23:9, 
24:3-5 and 15-17. 

1f 2. What are the contents of the first two visions? 
What is the third vision and its message? And how 
does it differ from the other two? 

Read Amos 7:1-9. 

If 3. The controversy with Amaziah, a great mo- 
ment in history; compared by George Adam Smith 
to Luther at the Diet of Worms.** 

Read Amos 7:10-17. 

*The International Critical Commentary, "Amos and 
Hosea," page cxxxii. 

**Book previously cited, page 108. 



22 An Outline of Old Testament [§3 

(1) What is Amaziah's charge? Recall that Ahijah 
had incited a conspiracy against Rehoboam (1 Kings 
11:26-31); and that Jehu was urged on by (Elijah), 
Elisha, and the Rechabites in a conspiracy against 
Ahab. Amos, however, despite Amaziah's fears, 
seems to be of a different sort. He is rather an in- 
terpreter of what God is doing in history than a 
fomenter of plots. He calls the nation to repentance 
and appeals to moral forces. 

(2) Who was Amos? What was the nature of his 
call? And how does he meet Amaziah's charge? 
Amos, of course, does not mean that his father was 
not a prophet, but refers to the fact that he was not 
a member of a prophetic band or guild called "the 
sons of the prophets." Compare, for an example of 
the free use of the word "son" in Hebrew, Deuter- 
onomy 34:7, where the original reads: "Moses was 
the son of a hundred and twenty years when he 
died." 

*} t 4. The fourth vision. 

Read Amos 8:1-14. 

What is the vision and its interpretation? What 
again are the sins Amos sees in the Israelitish people? 
And what (note especially verse 11) are the notable 
features of the doom here pronounced? 

If 5. The fifth vision. 

Read Amos 9:1-6. 

(1) Compare especially the visions of Micaiah 
ben-Imlah (1 Kings 22:19) and of Isaiah (Isa. 6:1-4). 
Note that even Amos, who attacks the popular 
worship so strenuously, sees Jehovah "standing by 
the altar." 



Ifl] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship, 23 

(2) The significant passage in the chapter, and 
indeed in the whole book of Amos, is verse ?• The 
Israelites are surfeited with the idea of the favorit- 
ism of Jehovah, the God of great deliverances, such 
as at the Red Sea and in the victory over Sisera. 
Against this idea Amos propounds severally these 
doctrines: 

(a) God will punish other nations, not for par- 
tisan but for moral reasons; 

(b) God will expect more of Israel, because she 
has been especially favored (Amos 3:2); 

(c) And here (in this climax of Amos's wider out- 
look) God leads and cares for other peoples as well 
as for Israel. 

Read Amos 9:7. 

Keep this passage in mind in your further study. 

^ 6. The far-flung hope. 

Read Amos 9:8-15. 

Beyond the prophetic arraignments and the judg- 
ments predicted there arises and grows in the history 
of prophecy a hope for a divine event toward which 
history moves. The presence of this hope, as of the 
broader outlook referred to in the preceding para- 
graph, will be observed from time to time. These 
two aspects of prophetic thought, along with the 
moral emphasis previously noted, make the develop- 
ment of Israel's religion of prime importance in 
the history of humanity. 

§ 4. Amos and His Times. 

If 1. The place of Amos in the history of prophecy 
in Israel. 

The revolt that founded the kingdom of Israel 



24 An Outline of Old Testament [§4 

was instigated, according to 1 Kings 11:26-40, by 
the prophet Ahijah on the ground that foreign wor- 
ships from Sidon, Moab, and Amnion had corrupted 
the religion of Judah under Solomon's rule. The 
socio-political question of taxation and oppression 
Ahijah does not seen to touch, unless Jeroboam's 
plea to Rehohoam reflects his ideas also. 

Made in a far larger mold than Ahijah was Elijah. 
His message to Ahab was, like that of Ahijah, a 
protest against foreign worships, against which he 
thrust the slogan "Jehovah is the God." Elijah, 
not less significantly championing the ancestral re- 
ligion, rebukes a ruthless king for the murder and 
dispossession of his subject, Naboth. 

The movement begun by Elijah resulted in a 
revolution under Elisha and Jehu and in the over- 
throw of the foreign Baalism. 

Perhaps a landmark in prophetic development is 
marked by a contemporary of Elijah who never 
caught the imagination of Israel, but who was nev- 
ertheless a great, bold spirit, Micaiah ben-Imlah.* 
Standing over against the prophetic guilds, he boldly 
predicts Ahab's defeat before a non-Israelitish foe. 
He sees Jehovah as enthroned and as bemoaning 
the shepherdlessness of his people. Compare Mark 
6:34. 

*"Ben" in Hebrew corresponds to the Scottish "Mac" 
and means "the son of." The English custom places the 
word "son" at the end instead of the beginning. It is 
better to transliterate rather than to translate the term, 
as it really forms a part of the surname; as, ben-Imlah, 
McKnight, Mclntyre, Robertson, Williamson, etc. 



ffl] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 25 

Of a rather opposite point of view, it would seem, 
was Jonah ben-Amittai, the ardent nationalist who 
predicted the success of the wars of Jeroboam II., 
and who, like Elisha, may have seemed in his day 
"the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof/' 

Read 2 Kings 14:25. 

The same narrower nationalistic viewpoint is 
attributed to him in the book of Jonah. This 
question will be considered in connection with the 
study of that book. 

Amos, according to Amos 1:1 also a prophet of 
Jeroboam's reign, may have represented a reaction 
from the Jonah group of prophets/ and also a further 
projection of the ideals of Micaiah ben-Imlah and 
of Elijah. He sees Jehovah as exalted above the 
nations and as working out his will by punishing 
Israel and them, and by caring in some sense for 
them as he does for Israel. Amos attacks not merely 
a tyrannical ruler, as Elijah and ben-Imlah had 
done, but the whole social order. He condemns 
the entire people as rotten to the core. The grounds 
of the overhanging judgment he locates in moral 
conditions of the broadest social kind. 

One's estimate of Amos will depend, of course, 
on one's view of previous Israelite and Oriental 
history; but under any theory, perhaps, the estimate 

a The book of Jonah may well be considered as an ac- 
count of how the narrower prophet Was through a tragic 
experience converted to the viewpoint of Amos. Compare 
§3, f[5 (2). The character of the book of Jonah, how- 
ever, must be postponed until the book of Jonah is con- 
sidered. 



26 r An Outline of the Old Testament [§4 

of Cornill* is not far wrong. "Amos is one of the 
most marvelous figures in the history of the human 
mind." He travels a path that all later piophecy 
follows. 

1J2. One of the constant questions amongst stu- 
dents of the prophets is, "Why did Amos of Judah 
prophesy in Israel?" Some have answered by de- 
nying that Amos was from Judah and have tried 
to locate the Tekoa referred to in the northern 
kingdom. The facts, however, seem all against this 
most inherently probable assumption a priori, and 
favor the view that Amos of Judah, by a prophetic 
activity in the sister nation of Israel, builded out 
from the work of Ahijah, Elijah, Elisha, Micaiah 
ben-Imlah, and Jonah ben-Amittai, and became the 
founder of the new prophetism. 

♦"The Prophets of Israel," Corkran's Translation, page 
46. 



CHAPTER II 

HOSE A, THE PROPHET OF A FORLORN LOVE 

§ 5. The Status of Opinion upon the Interpretation of 
Kosea. 

Ifl. The problem of interpreting the book of 
Hosea, and especially the first three chapters, is so 
intricate that it will be well to consider it before 
reading any part of the Bible text itself. These 
first three chapters present the story of a, tragic 
married life — of a wife who was guilty of adultery 
and harlotry. But here interpreters differ. Some 
take the story as an allegory or parable or prophetic 
vision of something that did not happen in fact, 
but is told by the prophet to picture the true course 
of Israel's conduct toward Jehovah. 

Most modern scholars, however, believe that these 
chapters recount real happenings; but here again 
differences arise. Some hold that Hosea married 
a pure young woman, who afterwards went astray 
and, it is usually added, broke the prophet's heart. 
Then, just as Jeremiah and Paul see in their re- 
spective "calls" the fulfillment of what God had in 
mind before their births, so Hosea sees the hand of 
God in his life from the beginning and feels that 
Jehovah was enacting in his experience a parable of 
Israel's apostasy to teach by a prophet's love for a 
wayward wife how Jehovah loves the wayward and 
sinful Israel. 

Others think that just as Isaiah went barefoot 

(27X 



28 An Outline of Old Testament [§5 

to call attention in a striking way to the coming 
Captivity, and just as Jeremiah wore a yoke as a 
symbol of subjection to the hated foreigner, so 
Hosea feels God's call to marry a woman who is 
already a notorious harlot in order by so unusual a 
course to call attention to Israel's conduct more 
forcibly than could be done even by the most vivid 
imagery in utterance or writing. 

Strong arguments can be urged for any of these 
views, and one should not put any of them perma- 
nently aside without a careful consideration of the 
arguments. As, however, in such a network of 
possibilities the first requisite is to get some consist- 
ent view, the following one is presented. It is not 
in any way offered as a final solution of the prob- 
lems involved, but as one that will serve until the 
student can by further study reach his own conclu- 
sions.* 

%2. It is customary to divide the book of Hosea 
more or less roughly into two sections: First, chapters 
1-3, the story of the prophet's married life; and, 
secondly, chapters 4-14, the prophetic sermons. 
This is hardly adequate. The book seems to center 
roughly around not one but two figures — it is an 
ellipse, not a circle. Chapters 1-10 are dominated 
by the figure of a wayward wife; chapters 11-14 
(or 11-13, if chapter 14 be a conclusion applicable 

*For other interpretations see the pertinent passage in 
J. M. P. Smith's "The Prophet and His Problems," and 
the Commentaries of Harper, Pusey, and George Adam 
Smith. 



fll] Prophecy, Wisdom , and Worship 29 

to both sections) are dominated by a sort of parable 
of a prodigal son. The first section is in two divisions, 
the story (1-3) and the sermons (4-10). 

If 3. It is worth noting in passing that the first 
section of Hosea presents a new literary form. a It 
is not a series of oracles, like the first chapters of 
Amos; nor a series of visions, like the last chapters; 
nor yet an independent discourse or discourses, 
like the middle section of that book. It is rather 
a story (be it parable or fact) and a series of sermons 
and applications based thereon. This form needs 
to be kept in mind, as it will be of interest in com- 
parison with other books to be studied later. 

§ 6. The Book and Its Message. 

«[ 1. The first division of the first section of Hosea. 

(1) Since Hosea 1:2 is in the third person and 3:1 
is in the first, it is not impossible that they refer 
to the same event and that the editorial super- 
scription of the book b is not merely verse 1, but 
verses 1 and 2. The superscription tells, then, not 
only, as in the case of Amos, the date of the proph- 
ecies, but also the central fact of the author's pro- 
phetic activity. 

Read Hosea 1:1, 2. 

a This new literary form grows very naturally, of 

course, out of the prophetic oracle-vision. The prophet 
or seer sees a vision and then gives his interpretation. 
Compare Amos 7 to 9. 

bDetails cannot be given here because of the limits and 
character of the present work. Suffice it to say that there 
are difficulties under any theory. 



30 An Outline of Old Testament [§6 

(2) Next comes the story of Hosea's marriage to 
Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and of the birth 
of their three children. 

Read Hosea 1:3-9. 

Some interpreters think that by the time of the 
birth of the second child Hosea suspects the virtue 
of Gomer and that he names the child "Unpitied" — 
that is, "without a father's pity/' in view of that 
suspicion. This seems unnecessary here or even 
after he has named the third child "No-kin-of- 
mine," since the prophet names his children to en- 
force his prophetic messages, as is shown in the 
naming of the first child "Jezreel." "No-kin-of- 
mine" would therefore merely convey the message 
that Jehovah renounces kinship with Israel. 

Without making the situation too modern and 
without in any way justifying Gomer, it is not at 
all impossible that the beginning of the misunder- 
standing between Gomer and Hosea may have been 
when the prophet's serious mind thus named his 
child. One might compare the prosaic, matter-of- 
fact way John Wesley courted, by asking his class- 
meetings whether they thought the married or the 
single life preferable for him, while another man 
walks off with his sweetheart, or even how oblivious 
he was, after his marriage, to what some one calls 
"the little things that go to make up the chain of 
a woman's happiness." Prophets, in other words, 
do not always make the best husbands. 

At any rate, Hosea took the whole process of 
rearing a family as a means of presenting his message 
to the nation. 



fl3] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 31 

(3) After his wife's fall to the very depths of 
shame, Hosea receives a command from Jehovah 
to go love her again and take her home for protec- 
tion and reformation. 

Read Hosea 3:1-5. 

Note the first person, "Jehovah said unto me." 

H" 2. The first application. 

Read Hosea 1:10 to 2:23. 

Ahijah and Elijah had fought the introduction 
of foreign Baals into Jehovah's land. They were 
horrified at such a bold intrusion. Hosea attacks 
the more insidious local Baalim, 1 perhaps the gods 
of the land in Canaanitish days, who were thought by 
the local inhabitants to give the land its fertility. 
Hosea asserts that the grain and wine and oil come 
not from the agricultural deities but from Jehovah, 
and he dubs the worship of these deities- adultery 
and even harlotry. 

If 3. The first homily or exhortation based upon 
the marital experience of the prophet. 

Read chapter 4. 

The people collectively play the harlot by wor- 
shiping the Baalim and the individuals play the 
harlot because such practice is a part of the debased 
ritual of the Baal religion. They have rejected the 
knowledge of Jehovah, they are joined to idols. Is 
it possible that Corner's fall may have been associat- 
ed with these Baal cults and the religious prostitu- 
tion connected with them? If so, the wrong of the 
Baal worship came very close home to the prophet. 

Baalim is simply the Hebrew plural of Baal. 



32 An Outline of Old Testament [§6 

IF 4. The second homily-oracle (or group of oracles). 
Read Hosea 5:1 to 9:9. 

(1) Note that this oracle, or at least the first 
part of it, seems directed especially at the priests 
and rulers, whereas the first oracle was a "contro- 
versy' ' with the inhabitants of the land. 

(2) The same strain as in chapter 4 recurs in 
5:3a, 6:10, 8:96-14, 9:1. 

(3) Observe that the emphasis is not on tender 
affection, but on the instinctive jealousy of the hus- 
band: 5:14, 7:12, 8:13. 

(4) The attack made on idols: 8:4-6. 

(5) The great text: 6:6. Compare Amos 2:65. 
"What other points impress you? The whole book 

will repay careful study. Where does Israel seek 
help (5:13, 7:11 and 16, 8:9a)? 

If 5. Here follows a passage or passages built 
largely around the figures of grapes and the vine, 
and of sowing and reaping. Perhaps this might be 
considered a separate section of the book; but its 
figures are so much less significant than the figures 
of the wife and the son that, whether quite logical 
or not, the passage had better be taken as a division 
of one of the other sections, either as closing the 
first section or as beginning the second section, 
where the main theme is not contemporary con- 
ditions merely but the entire history of Israel. 

Read Hosea 9:10 to 10:15. 

^6. So far the message of Hosea is not very differ- 
ent from that of Amos. Amos pictures the diso- 
bedience and rebelliousness of Israel in literal terms 
as a rebellion of a people against God; Hosea, under 



ft6] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 33 

a figure, as a rebellion of a wife against her obligation 
to her husband. The wife is due loyalty and "leal- 
love." These Gomer and Israel fail to render. It 
is not impossible that the figure Amos used in 5:2 
may have helped Hosea to his conception. 

The usual view that Hosea represents Jehovah's 
tender affection toward Israel under the figure of a 
husband's love for a wife seems to read modern 
ideals into ancient life. It is true there were some 
romances in primitive times like that of Jacob and 
Rachel, and even some romance in marriages like 
that of Isaac and Eebekah; there was always the 
play of the higher sexual and family instinct, and 
modern Christians are all too prone to underestimate 
the ties of affection and consideration that bind 
modern heathen or ancient patriarchal families 
together. Yet, after all has been said, the lifelong 
companionship of the modern man and woman as 
a companionship of equals is foreign to the ancient 
social order. Compare the lordship of the man in 
Abraham's sending away of Hagar; the place of the 
wife in the tenth commandment in Exodus and even 
in Deuteronomy; ::: the story of Alcestis among the 
Greeks. Nor is the crime of adultery the same sort 
of crime in the ancient as in the modern family: 
it is strongly condemned, but is of a different tone 
and type. 

When Jehovah says to Hosea "Go, love again," 
he does not mean "Go, have a deep, broken-heart- 
ed affection." There is a deep sadness, of course, 

*$ee§33, tf 4. 



34 An Outline of Old Testament [§6 

in Hosea's life, and he loves his wayward wife; but 
he does not profess a broken heart of the modern 
type, nor does he here represent Jehovah as the 
broken-hearted God and Husband of Israel. Rather 
is he like the deeply wronged man whose jealousy 
is stirred and whose rights are ignored. This is 
primary; the deeper affection is secondary in the 
prophet's thought. The purpose of the command 
to take Gomer back is not that she may be "loved/' 
but that she may be disciplined. 

Read Hosea 3:3. 

Under the figure of the marriage relation Hosea 
presents the only aspect of God's character con- 
sonant with the social ideals of the time, the rightful 
jealousy that demands "leal-love." Compare the 
second commandment, "a jealous God" (Ex. 20:5). 
Under this figure Hosea is the prophet of a forlorn 
"leal-love." 

If 7. But Hosea is also the prophet of the great 
affectionate heart of God. If the lifelong companion- 
ship of love between man and wife did not exist in 
the ancient world, the lifelong companion-love of 
father and son did. Compare the relation of Abra- 
ham to Sarai with that of Abraham to Isaac; or of 
Jacob to Rachel even with that of Jacob and Jos- 
eph; or David's impulsive, instinctive love for Abi- 
gail or Bathsheba with his affection for Absalom. 
(Recall also how the David-Jonathan and Ruth- 
Naomi friendships surpass any friendship related 
between husband and wife.) Hosea knew the depths 
of a father's love; so when, by a change of figure, 
God becomes not husband but father the great 



ft8] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 3o 

broken heart of God pours itself forth. Noting 
particularly verses 1, 3, and 8 in chapter 11, 

Read Hosea 11 to 13. 

Does the father's heart turn back here from the 
faithless Gomer to the poorJezreel,Lo-ruhamah,and 
Lo-ammi, whose names were, in the time of his un- 
broken home, a parable to Israel; but who themselves 
got hold of the father's heartstrings so strongly? 

In this representation Hosea goes beyond Amos; 
or, perhaps better, he rehabilitates the older Israel- 
itish religion of Jehovah's especial love and care for 
Israel, in the new moralized and internationalized 
setting into which the stern moral demands of Amos 
had thrust it. It is significant that throughout 
Hebrew literature the most tender passages on God's 
love hang not around the figure of husband and wife, 
but around that of parent and child. Compare the 
Old Testament figure of an adulterous wife cul- 
minating in the New Testament representation of 
the Church as the bride of Christ, where the thought 
is less of Christ's love than of his husband-like 
requirement of perfect purity and beauty in his 
bride, with the figures in the prophets of the Divine 
love like a parent's to a child,* culminating inJesus's 
story of the prodigal son and his bereft father. 

If 8. The hope for the future: a beautiful call to 
repentance with a promise of restoration to Divine 
love and care. 

Read Hosea 14. 

*In addition to Hosea, note preeminently Isaiah 49:15. 



CHAPTER III 

MICAH OF MORESHETH IN JUDAH 
§ 7. Micah. 

Ifl. Although Isaiah is an older contemporary, 
Micah is taken first in this study for two reasons: 

(a) He works more completely in the spirit of 
Amos and Hosea than does Isaiah; and, like them, 
he represents the viewpoint not of the city-dweller 
or of one under the shadow of the Jerusalem Temple 
but that of the mass of country folk; and 

(b) The treatment of the book of Isaiah at this 
stage would take the student so far beyond the 
cycle of Micah's ideas as to make a return to him 
decidedly like an eddy in the stream of prophetic 
development. 

It is not the purpose of the present study to enter 
into critical questions of date and authorship, yet 
it has been thought best not to ignore entirely the 
chronological order where there is no material dis- 
pute and where that order makes clear and vivid 
the main line of prophetic development. An effort 
is made to make no comment in the text violently in 
conflict with any widely accepted viewpoint. On 
these principles Amos, Hosea, Micah, Isaiah, Jere- 
miah, Ezekiel, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi are 
treated first. The other prophetic books are treated 
in large degree topically and with little reference to 
chronological sequence. This course is followed with- 
out intending to deny, for example, the early date 
(36) 



If 2] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 37 

of the books of Joel and Jonah or to assert the unity 
of Isaiah or Micah. These are merely questions be- 
yond the scope of the present outline. 

If 2. The spirit of Israel works in Judah also, and 
the spirit of Israelitish prophecy finds a voice in a 
prophet of Judah. 

(1) Prior to the time of Isaiah and Micah, as 
has been seen, prophecy had its home chiefly in 
Northern Israel. In Micah a prophet of Judah ar- 
raigns the same social conditions in Judah that Amos 
found in Israel. The prosperity Israel attained under 
Jeroboam II. is now shared by Judah with the same 
results in the oppression of the poor by the rich. 

Read Micah 1:1 and 9, and 2:1, 2. 

This last is almost a modern anti-trust message. 
The wickedness they think on in their beds is not 
individual vices, but social oppressions. 

(2) Amos had stressed, in addition to general 
oppression, the luxury and wantonness of the women 
and the ceaseless round of meaningless worship: 
Micah arraigns especially the unmanly mercenary 
prophets, priests, rulers, and judges. 

Read Micah 3:1-3, 5 and 9-11. 

(3) What threats does Micah make? 

Read Micah 1:6,7, 3:12, and especially 3:6, 7. 
The condition predicted in the last passage is to the 
prophets a constant horror: compare Amos 8:11. 

(4) Now with these points in mind, and taking 
1:8-16 as a dirge over the devastations of a con- 
quering army, and getting the spirit and power of 
the prophet's message, 

Read the first section of Micah, chapters 1-3. 



38 An Outline of Old Testament [§7 

If 3. It is sometimes said that Micah presents no 
new idea and marks no theological advance, but is 
a powerful preacher of the messages of earlier proph- 
ets. What amounts to a contrary view is offered by 
J. M. P. Smith:* "Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah could 
contemplate the fall of Samaria with some degree 
of equanimity, for Judah remained as the representa- 
tive of Yahweh. 1 . . . Micah with unshrinking faith 
proclaimed Yahweh as superior to and independent 
of his city, his temple, and his people. It was a 
faith that stopped at nothing.' ' What do you think 
of Smith's view? 

If 4. The larger future: the passing of war and the 
coming of international peace. 

The next passage is found in slightly varying 
form in both Isaiah and Micah, a fact that has given 
rise to the question as to which quotes the other; 
or if neither, as to whether both use an older oracle 
or an editor has inserted the passage in both places. 
These problems pale before the wonderful beauty of 
the passage, the forerunner of many similar ideals, 
expressing the ever-recurring hope for international 
peace. At no period of the world's history is this 
message of more interest than to-day. It is one of 
the noblest of prophetic oracles. 

*"The Prophet and His Problems," page 216. 

1 When the Hebrew name for God became in later 
Judaism too sacred to utter, the rabbis pronounced the 
consonants of that name with the vowels of the Hebrew 
word for Lord, Adhonai; which combination is rendered 
in English "Jehovah." The usual modern reconstruc- 
tion of the ancient name is "Yahweh." 



fl7] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 39 

Read Micah 4:1-5 and Isaiah 2:2-4. 

If 5. The next passage is a more nationalistic ex- 
pression of Israel's hope of redemption. 

Read Micah 4:6 to 5:1. 

If 6. The prophet then turns to the coming king 
and the religious reformation. 

Read Micah 5:2-9 and 10-15. 

The expectation of a coming son of David becomes 
one of the corner stones of the hope for a Messiah, 
tying the national and the religious ideals together. 
The ability to look back to an ideal lovable king 
gave Judah an immense religious as well as political 
advantage over Israel and did much to give her 
hopes a "local habitation and a name." The char- 
acter of David was, therefore, not only Judah's 
greatest political asset,* but one of her greatest re- 
ligious assets as well. 

What are the features of the reformation described 
in verses 10-15? 

If 7. The great summary of religion: a high- water 
mark of Old Testament prophecy. 

Read Micah 6:1-8. 

What Micah 4:1-4 (with its parallel, Isaiah 2:2-4) 
has been as a guidepost to international idealism, 
this passage has been as an exposition of spiritual 
religion. A legalistic or ritualistic view (verse 2) 
makes religion a wearisome affair. Rightly viewed, 
however, God is not primarily one who demands but 
one who gives — a God of redemption (verses 4, 5) ; 

^Compare the "Outline for the Study of Old Testa- 
ment History," page 167. 



40 An Outline of Old Testament [§7 

and as for his demands, what are they? The ques- 
tion of verse lb is not merely rhetorical, as the 
widespread practice of human sacrifice testifies. It 
seemed hard for the Israelites to get away from the 
ancient idea that the greatest sacrifice of all — that 
of a first-born son — would please or appease God. 
Compare Judges 11:29-40, Psalm 106:35-39, 2 
Kings 3:2, and Genesis 22:1-19, which seems to 
teach "that while Jehovah requires such devotion 
as would give up an only son for his sake, human 
sacrifice is to be banished from Israel."* 

Furthermore, a priestly ritualism elaborated the 
ceremonial and stressed the number of offerings. 
The great answer to verse 3, as well as to verses 6 
and 7, is that weary ritualistic (and legalistic) 
prescriptions are man-made and unnecessary. What 
does God require? Read again the magnificent 
statement, verse 8. Compare the summary of 
religion given by the New Testament practical wis- 
dom, James 1:27. 

^[8. Driver** notes that "it is no longer the lead- 
ers only, as in chapters 1 to 3, whose misconduct 
the prophet denounces; the people as a whole are ad- 
dressed, and the entire nation is represented as cor- 
rupt." 

Scant and deceitful weights, violence, lies, and un- 
trustworthiness abound. 

Read Micah 6:9 to 7:6. 

*Seay, "The Story of the Old Testament," page 71. 
♦♦"Introduction to the Literature of the Old Testa- 
ment," page 330. 



fl9] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 41 

1[9. But the prophet looks beyond the present. 
Read Micah 7:7-20. 

What features are particularly worthy of note 
here, and what tone predominates? 

§ 8. Exercise and Review. 

(1) Read Amos at a sitting and write out a sum- 
mary of his message and an estimate of his character. 

(2) Do the same with Hosea and Micah respec- 
tively. 

(3) Wherein do these three differ from one anoth- 
er in message and form? Write out a statement. 

(4) Choose several of the greatest passages in 
each book and master and memorize them. 

(5) Write out a sketch of ancient prophetism 
as so far studied. 



CHAPTER IV 

ISAIAH 
§ 9. "The Great Arraignment." 

Isaiah 1. 

f 1. The title of the section, suggested by Ewald, 
has become the most popular name for the first 
chapter of Isaiah. The chapter has also been de- 
scribed as a kind of summary of Isaiah's message 
placed in its present position (the story of the 
prophet's call is in chapter 6) to serve as a sort of 
preface to the book. 

Tf 2. After the title verse, there comes Jehovah's 
incomparable appeal to the heavens and the earth. 

Read Isaiah 1:1-3. 

Two aspects of sin are presented; in verse 2 sin 
is rebellion, a violation of the principles of obliga- 
tion and gratitude. In verse 3 sin is held up as 
amazing stupidity. The former, as will be increas- 
ingly apparent, is more characteristic of the pro- 
phetic point of view. 

Compare verse 2 with Hosea 11:1-3 and verse 3 
with Hosea 4 :1c and 6. Compare also Isaiah 5:13. 

II 3. Jehovah's direct appeal to the people and 
leaders of Israel. 

Read Isaiah 1:4-20. 

(1) First the prophet places the desolateness of 
the land over against the sin of the people as effect 
and cause, and then he denounces the effort to ap- 
pease God by ritual and offerings instead of by 
a reformed life. 
(42) 



fl4] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 43 

Compare Isaiah 1:11-17 with Amos 5:4-7, and 
Hosea 6:6, 

(2) The prophets frequently represent Jehovah 
as entering into some sort of controversy with his 
people; his communications are not mere fulmi- 
nations, but pleadings and reasonings. Compare 
Hosea 4:1, Micah 1:2, 6:2, Isaiah 1:2 with Isaiah 
1:18a, but do not place too much stress on the mere 
word "reason" in the English versions. 

(3) Some scholars think the latter part of verse 
18 is ironical. The people were saying, 'Though 
our sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow/' 
probably by reason of the multitude of sacrifices. 
Jehovah says, in fine scorn: "Though your sins be 
as scarlet, shall they be as white as snow? No; 
but if ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat of 
the good of the land." The usual interpretation, 
of course, makes the verse a promise of forgiveness 
and cleansing. Either view furnishes a great message; 
but even if the former view be the correct rendering 
of the Hebrew text, the latter certainly reflects 
the ideal of the New Testament and of some pas- 
sages in the Psalms and the prophets. The question 
is, therefore, not whether the ordinary interpre- 
tation be a doctrine of the Bible, but whether it be 
the sense of this particular passage. 

If 4. Jehovah's exclamation of wonder. 

Read Isaiah 1:21-23. Compare Jesus in Mat- 
thew 8:10 and Mark 6:6. 

The comparison seems to be suggested by Hosea's 
message. It, like Amos 5:2, accords well with the 
view that Gomer was a chaste woman before her 



44 An Outline of Old Testament [§10 

marriage, and the whole passage harmonizes with 
the idea that the figure of the faithless woman rep- 
resents not so much the idea of breaking a husband's 
heart as that of rebellion against obligation to a 
husband. 

Tf5. The new figure. 

(1) Amos speaks of God as a ruler or judge re- 
quiring his people to act justly; Hosea, as a husband 
demanding loyalty and as a father disappointed in 
his child. Isaiah, after using these figures in verses 
10, 21, and 2, respectively, pictures the people of 
Israel in a sorrier plight as enemies of her God. 

Read Isaiah 1:24. 

(2) But this figure is followed only for a moment: 
the prophet turns to the purpose of Jehovah and the 
future of Israel. 

Read Isaiah 1:25-31. 

What aspects of the Israel that is to be are here 
dwelt upon? 

If 6. Because of its typicalness as well as its im- 
port much time has been spent in this chapter. 
Now, after reviewing the comments of the text, read 
the entire chapter consecutively, getting its turns of 
thought, its vivid figures, and its great message. 

§ 10. The Word That Isaiah the Son of Amoz Saw Con- 
cerning Judah and Jerusalem. 

Isaiah 2 to 12. 

f 1. Read Isaiah 2:1. Compare Isaiah 13:1, 
which indicates that the title of 2:1 does not extend 
to the thirteenth chapter. 

Isaiah 2:2-4 has been studied under §7, If 4, 
which see. 



ft 3] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 45 

If 2. The sin of Judah and the day of Jehovah. 

(1) In the popular mind the day of Jehovah was 
the time when Jehovah would, without especial re- 
gard to moral considerations, visit deliverance or 
blessing upon his people and seemingly complete 
destruction upon their enemies. The canonical 
prophets have a different conception. 

Compare Amos 5:18-20 and Isaiah 2:12. 

Noting the three sins dwelt upon in verses 6, 
7, and 8 (foreign influence, trust in armies and ma- 
terial things rather than in Jehovah, and idolatry), 

Read Isaiah 2:5-22. 

(2) An ordinary soothsayer among any people 
might see in famine or pestilence or defeat in war 
the hand of an offended God. Isaiah predicts as 
punishment to come more than a famine — a topsy- 
turvy social order. 

Read Isaiah 3:1 to 4:1. 

What two classes are singled out? Compare 
Isaiah 3:13 to 4:1 with Amos 2:6-8, 4:1-3, and 3:126 
and 15. 

God, however, has an ultimate purpose to which 
the forces of history tend. 

Read Isaiah 4:2-6. Compare §9, f 5 (2). 

1f3. The song of the vineyard and the woes. 

(1) One of the literary gems of prophetic litera- 
ture is the parable-song of the vineyard. Along 
with Jotham's fable (Judges 9:7-15) and Nathan's 
parable (2 Sam. 12:1-7), it stands perhaps more 
nearly as the forerunner in literary form of the par- 
ables of Jesus than any other Old Testament pas- 
sages. 



46 'An Outline of Old Testament [§10 

Read Isaiah 5:1-7. 

(2) To what several classes of people are the woes 
uttered? 

Read Isaiah 5:8-23. 

Compare the first woe with Micah 2:1, 2 and the 
second (identical with the first half of the last 
woe, verse 22) with Proverbs 20:1, 23:29-35, 31:4, 5. 
Consider the want of any real moral sense condemned 
in verse 20. 

(3) What is the specific punishment that the 
chapter expects to see visited upon the people? 

Read Isaiah 5:13 and 24-30. 

(4) Note that when Jesus in Matthew 21:33- 
43 uses a parable seemingly modeled after Isaiah's 
parable of the vineyard, he looks beyond mere pun- 
ishment for Israel to the choosing of another people. 

If 4. Isaiah's call. 

(1) The chapter evidently presents the prophet 
as looking back over the years to a sacred expe- 
rience of earlier days. "In the year that King 
Uzziah died" — it begins. George Adam Smith* 
suggests that it was the sinking of the glorious majes- 
ty of King Uzziah** behind the cloud of leprosy that 
by contrast impressed Isaiah with the more lasting 
majesty of a greater king. 

Read Isaiah 6:1-7. 

This is one of the most epochal experiences in 
human history, comparable almost to that of Saul 

*"Isaiah," in the Expositor's Bible, Vol. I., page 59. 
**See "Outline for the Study of Old Testament His- 
tory," §72, lffl-3. 



ff4] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 47 

of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. The vision of 
Paul, in the open country of a non-Israelitish land, 
meant the freeing of early Christianity from the 
hands of the current religious institutions and tra- 
ditions; that of Isaiah, occurring in the Jerusalem 
Temple, meant the tying of Hebrew prophetism to 
the religious institutions of his day. In this respect 
they seem to represent opposite tendencies. Yet 
each perhaps represented the supreme need of 
spiritual religion in its own age. 

Amos and Hosea stand totally outside of Is- 
raelitish ecclesiasticism, and when the nation fell 
there was nothing for their messages to tie to. 
While Isaiah, like Micah, caught up the message of 
Amos and Hosea and put the emphasis where they 
did (compare Isa. 1:11-20), he nevertheless ties 
prophetism to the Temple. Many modern scholars 
regard this as unfortunate, because the Jewish 
ecclesiasticism in later times engulfed and subverted 
prophetism. But that ecclesiasticism preserved it, 
none the less; and had it not been for this accomplish- 
ment of Isaiah's, the prophecies of even Amos and 
Hosea might not have been preserved or made 
effective at all. Compare how deeply Paul felt it 
necessary to tie to the primitive Church in Jerusalem 
(Gal. 2:2), and how ineffective the Renaissance spirit 
was in the popular mind until Luther tied it to the 
Church. 

Perhaps it should be said that there was in Judah 
an ecclesiasticism that lent itself more to Isaiah's 
task than Amos and Hosea had at hand in the 
northern kingdom. 



48 An Outline of Old Testament [§10 

(2) Not less influential and far more significant 
spiritually is Isaiah's personal feeling of uncleanness 
in the presence of Jehovah and his personal expe- 
rience of forgiven sin. Out of this feeling flows 
Isaiah's emphasis on the holiness of God, comparable 
to that of Amos on the justice of God and of Hosea 
on God's demand for personal loyalty and on God's 
love. 

Compare Isaiah's new name for God: 1:4, 5:24, 
10:17, 29:19 and 23. 

Out of this experience enters also into prophetism 
another ethical viewpoint. In 1:2, as has been seen, 
sin is looked upon as rebellion; in 1:3 as foolishness, 
a viewpoint characteristic, as will appear, of the 
wisdom element of the Old Testament: here sin 
is uncleanness. This is the priestly emphasis, to 
which righteousness is spotlessness. It preaches 
the religion of a clean record.* 

(3) The mission and message. 

Read Isaiah 6:8-13 and compare Mark 4:11, 12, 
Matthew 13:14, 15. Compare also Exodus 10:1. 

One must seek the commentaries and books on 
theology for the discussions of this difficult and 
seemingly harsh passage. But the main facts are 
clear. 

(a) The bulk of the people seem hopeless (com- 
pare Hos. 4:17): but 

(6) A remnant shall be saved (compare 6:13 and 

a With these three one might compare the most char- 
acteristic Greek view of sin as ugliness and of righteous- 
ness as beauty and harmony. These are the four touch- 
stones of practical ethics. See § 2. 



If 5] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 49 

1:9). Out of this remnant-doctrine comes the prog- 
ress of prophecy toward the appreciation of the 
individual and of purely spiritual and non-nation- 
alistic values, 

(4) Now read the chapter entire — one of the great 
passages — and get its full message. 

1f5. A prophet in action. 

(1) A not infrequent prophetic method seems to 
have been that of naming children so as to embody 
messages to the nation. This Hosea did, as has been 
seen. Isaiah adopts the same plan. One of his 
ideas was that of "The remnant" (See \4 (3) (6), 
above) ; this idea, as well as another, he embodied in 
the name of a son. 

Read Isaiah 7:3, 8:1-4 and 6-18. 

The margin of the Revised Version gives the 
translation of the names as "A remnant shall return" 
and "The spoil speedeth, the prey hasteth." 

(2) The passage under consideration (Isaiah 7:1 
to 9:7) is more like 1 Kings 17:1 to 2 Kings 2:12.* 
It is the story of a prophet's activity, not a se- 
ries of oracles or sermons. Syria and Israel attack 
Judah presumably because Judah will not join them 
against Assyria. Ahaz turns to Assyria for help. 
Isaiah tells him he should turn to Jehovah for help. 
The prophet thus becomes a kind of Old Testament 
Paul with a doctrine of salvation by faith. 

Read Isaiah 7:95, 8:11-13. 

(3) Following the method referred to in (1) above, 

*See the "Outline for the Study of Old Testament 
History," § 65. 

4 



50 An Outline of Old Testament [§10 

thesweeping prophetic faith is embodied in the name 
of a child to be born. 

Read Isaiah 7:14-16 and 9:6,7. 

(4) Now, with these points in mind and getting 
the full significance especially of the last verse, 

Read Isaiah 7:1 to 9:7. 

If 6. God's warnings and ultimatum. 

Read again Amos 4:6-13 and then read Isaiah 
9:8 to 10:4, following it with a rereading of Isaiah 
5:25-30, which some scholars think is the dislocated 
close of the sermon. Such dislocation seems some- 
times to have happened in ancient manuscripts. 
Note the recurrence of the formula in 9:12, 17, and 
21, 10:4, and in 5:25. 

The hand "stretched out" is, of course, not in 
mercy, but in readiness for another blow. This 
last (5:25-30), if the rearrangement is correct, is 
the ultimatum, like Amos 4:12, 13. 

What are the sins of the people that so arouse 
Jehovah's anger? The ethical emphasis is significant 
of the prophetic viewpoint. 

If 7. A philosophy of history. 

It is usually said that the Hebrews were not 
philosophers; that, for example, they assume the 
existence of God and do not try to prove it; and that 
one must go rather to the Greeks for philosophy. 
If philosophy be defined as metaphysics, of course 
the statement is true; but if a broader definition of 
philosophy be taken, the statement is at best one- 
sided. It is true that the Greeks elaborated their 
philosophy more formally and technically, just as 
did Kant and his successors in Germany as over 



j[7] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 51 

against Locke, Berkeley, and Hume in England, and 
that the^Greek philosophy is a less communal and 
more individual product; but it is a mistake to think 
of the Greeks as theorizers for theory's sake. Man 
is a pragmatic animal, and theory is born of a prac- 
tical motive. The Greeks started with the idea of 
the world, and therefore had to think through, as 
their most pressing practical problems, the grounds 
for believing in God and even for believing the truth 
of the reports of the senses. To the older Greek 
mind history was no problem. It just happened 
to be what it was. The Hebrews started from the 
idea of God, and that guaranteed the validity of the 
senses, for God would not deceive mankinds Given 
God. however, as a starting point, the facts of history 
raised a problem. Thus while the Greeks developed 
an epistemology and a theism, the Hebrews developed 
a philosophy of history and a theodicy. b Isaiah's 
philosophy of history is that in history God is working 
out his own moral ends, that national sin brings on 
national disaster (compare Amos 1 and 2), and that 
Assyria is to be God's instrument of punishment. 
This, however, brings forward another problem — 
"Is Assyria better than Judah?" "No," says the 

aFor the working of the Greek problem upon a mind 
imbued with the Hebrew point of view one has but to 
turn to the philosophy of Descartes, who proves the va- 
lidity of the senses by first proving the existence of God. 

bThe later Stoic philosophy of history and theodicy 
grew out of the previous philosophical conclusion as to the 
existence of a supreme God — that is, out of the same 
premise as the Hebrew theodicy and philosophy of his- 
tory. 



52 An Outline of Old Testament [§11 

prophet: God uses her now; later he will punish her 
wantonness. 

Read Isaiah 10:5-34. 

What is Assyria's view and what the prophet's 
view of her power (verses 10, 13, and 15)? What 
will be the ultimate fates of Assyria and Israel re- 
spectively (verses 12, 20, and 21)? 

<[8. Beyond the present there looms the outcome 
of the forces of history and of the purpose of God. 

Read chapters 11 and 12. 

Dwell upon the wonderful picture of the kindly 
character and equitable administration of the king 
and judge, and upon the universal peace in the 
world of animals and men. 

Says George Adam Smith: "We, who live in 
countries from which wild beasts have been exter- 
minated, cannot understand the insecurity and terror 
that they cause in regions where they abound." 
But, unlike Hercules and Theseus and Arthur, the 
Hebrew prophet in his kindly heart "would not have 
the wild beasts exterminated, but tamed."* 

Note the strain of universalism in 11 : 10. Compare 
Amos 9:7 and §3, 1f5 (2). 

§ 11. Oracles upon the Nations. 

Isaiah 13 to 23. 

f 1. The burden of Babylon. 

Read Isaiah 13 and 14, noting the following points: 
(a) The carrying out of the idea of the Divine work- 
ing in history. Compare especially God's use of the 

*The Expositor's Bible, "Isaiah," Vol. I., pages 18 9 
and 190. 



fl5] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 53 

Medes. (6) The picture of the destruction, like a 
Chopin funeral-march (13:19-22). (c) The taunt- 
song of the restored Israel. (d) Two addenda on 
Assyria and Philistia. 

\2. The burden of Moab. 

Read Isaiah 15 and 16. 

Note that an older oracle is quoted (16:13, 14) 
and its speedy fulfillment announced. 

If 3. The burden of Damascus. 

Remembering that, according to chapter seven, 
Israel (here, as not infrequently, referred to by the 
name of its leading tribe as Ephraim; compare 
Hosea) was confederate with Syria against Judah. 

Read Isaiah 17. 

If 4. The burden of Ethiopia and Egypt. 

The prophet turns from the more petty enemies 
and rivals — Philistia, Moab, Syria, Ephraim — to 
another of the world empires which, like Assyria 
and Babylon, made Israel and Judah its football. 

Read chapters 18 to 20. 

Note (a) the strange object lesson of 20:2-4. 
Compare the Greek philosopher Diogenes with his 
lantern in daytime "looking for a man." (b) The 
magnificent universalism of 19:21-25. The prophet 
looks beyond the bounds of a narrow nationalism to 
a world highway and foresees the conversion of the 
empires that had devastated Israel. Refer again 
to Amos 9:7; also to §10, If 8, above, especially 
comparing the taming as versus the extermination 
of animals with the conversion as versus the extermi- 
nation of the people. Which is the greater conquest? 

If 5. A somewhat miscellaneous group of oracles 



54 An Outline of Old Testament [§11 

against (1) several peoples, (2) the homeland, and 
(3) a faithless individual. 

Read Isaiah 21 and 22. 

Parts of 21:9, 11, 12, and of 22:22, 23 become 
catch phrases in later writers. 

In passing from foreign peoples to the homefolk, 
there seems to be no such oratorical climax as in 
Amos 1 and 2 (§ 1) . Yet the message is to the point. 
Compare 22:11, 13, and 14. Says George Buchanan 
Gray: 

Clear and insistent in this section is the contrast between 
the prophet's dark vision of destruction and the light-heart- 
edness and recklessness of the people, who give themselves 
up to revelry, either because they do not perceive the issue 
of things, and see in a temper of alleviation a permanent re- 
lief, or because, feeling the insecurity of the present, they 
are determined to drown their cares in wine and feasting.* 

Tf6. The burden of Tyre. 

From the petty nations of Western Asia and the 
powerful military empires, attention is turned to 
the "mart of the nations," in the terse phrase of the 
English translation. Considering verses 1-14 as a 
description of present ruin and the remainder as 
prophecy, 

Read Isaiah 23. 

Whitehouse remarks: "Intercourse with foreign 
nations was designated 'harlotry' by the prophet 
Hosea and those who followed him (especially Na- 
hum and Ezekiel)."** The figure is a strange one to 

*The International Critical Commentary, "Isaiah," Vol. 
I., page 363. 

**The New Century Bible, "Isaiah," Vol. I., page 266. 



ffl] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 55 

modern ears; it seems to mean that the proceeds 
of Tyre's revived merchandise shall enrich Israel. 
§ 12. The Isaianic Apocalypse. 

Isaiah 24 to 27. 

If 1. In these chapters attention passes from inter- 
mediate judgments on particular nations to an ulti- 
mate world- judgment upon all and a final consum- 
mation of the processes of history. This fact brings 
to mind the point of view of Daniel and Revelation, 
rather than that of Amos and Hosea, and has made 
scholars denominate it an "apocalypse." Keep 
this name and classification in mind: it will be stud- 
ied more in detail later. 

Read Isaiah 24:1 and 3. 

If 2. The divine events and consummation pur- 
posed by God will bring an end to sin and sorrow. 

Read Isaiah 24:16a and 25:6, 8, and 9. 

Observe the note of universalism. 

If 3. Read Isaiah 26:14-19. 

This is one of the most explicit references in the 
Old Testament to the resurrection. 

1f4. Notice especially the beautiful song opening 
chapter 26, with its message of faith, peace, and 
righteousness. 

Read Isaiah 26:1-7. 

1f 5. Now, with these considerations in mind, 

Read Isaiah 24 to 27. 
§ 13. The Citadel of Faith. 

Isaiah 28 to 35. 

Ifl. One of the strongest indictments in the 
prophets is Isaiah's philippic against the drunkards 



56 An Outline of Old Testament [§13 

of Israel, evidently written before the fall of Samaria 
and the captivity of the North Israelites. Noting 
especially the climax in verse 7, 
Read Isaiah 28:1-13. 

What is their heedless drunken taunt (verses 9, 
10)? and how does the prophet turn their words 
against them? Compare Isaiah 30:10 and Amos 
7:12, 13 and 2:12. 

If 2. God's judgments are coming, but there is a 
way (verse 16) of escape. 

Read Isaiah 28:14-29. 

If 3. There are several difficulties in chapter 29, 
which, as frequently in these studies, must either 
be reserved for later investigation or else ferreted 
out with the aid of the commentaries. In any case, 
puzzling over details should not get in the way of 
the main purpose, the getting of the main outlines 
and the understanding of the fundamental and im- 
portant messages of Old Testament religion. A 
foolish thoroughness may be, to adapt Emerson's 
words on consistency, the hobgoblin of prosaic and 
legalistic minds. 

The security of faith here is in marked contrast 
with the security of drunken heedlessness in the pre- 
ceding chapter. Noting especially verses 4, 8, and 
19, 

Read Isaiah 29. 

Two passages in this chapter are pressed into 
important service in the New Testament: (a) Verse 
13, which is quoted by Jesus as applicable to the 
people of his own as well as of Isaiah's day; and (b) 
verse 16 (compare also 30:14), which becomes a 



f[5] Prophecy, Wisdom, mid Worship 57 

classic figure in the Old Testament and the Apocry- 
pha and is used strikingly by Paul in Romans 9. 
1f 4. Should Israel rely on Egypt or Jehovah? 

(1) The politicians would avert the present dis- 
aster by an alliance with Egypt; Isaiah suggests 
another way, reliance upon Jehovah. Noting espe- 
cially 30:15-18 and 31:6-8, 

Read Isaiah 30:1 to 31:9. 

Get and read Byron's "Destruction of Sen- 
nacherib," a modern poet's interpretation of the 
fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. 

Was Isaiah's mind, when he made his prediction, 
possibly dwelling upon the deliverances at the Red 
Sea and in the battle against Sisera (Judges 4 and 
5) ? In any case Jehovah was to the religious leaders 
of Israel fundamentally a God of Great Deliverances. 
He was not a mere national deity, but the God of 
Salvation and of a covenant based upon the salvation 
and protection he brought. This element is not 
less, but more, fundamental to prophetism than the 
ethical emphasis of Amos, and it is not less of an 
asset to religion and progress. 

(2) The prophet hopes for a reconstructed social 
order following the divine deliverance — a righteous 
ruler, men of prominence who protect rather than 
oppress, and a public opinion that rightly dis- 
criminates in its commendations and condemnations. 
How modern a ring it all has in these days of the 
Peace Conference in Paris! 

Read Isaiah 32:1-8. 

1(5. The heedless security of the women is doomed 
to a rude shock, but there is a road to a real and 



58 An Outline of Old Testament [§13 

permanent security. Noting especially verses 15a 
and 17, 

Read Isaiah 32:9-20. 

If 6. The lowest ebb is the turn of the tide. The 
destroyer is now devastating, but Jehovah is ready 
to save. 

Read Isaiah 33. 

It must be remembered that this deliverance is 
not prompted by the mere favoritism of a national 
God. Jehovah is a God of righteousness, of ever- 
lasting burnings toward wickedness: he is in Fosdick's 
recent fine phrase, "An earnest God" — who can 
stand before him? Compare verses 14-16. 

An especially beautiful and pathetic touch in the 
larger hope for a distressed and burdened world is in 
verse 24. 

If 7. The coming day of vengeance on Edom, 
Israel's traditional foe. 

Read Isaiah 34. 

If 8. The coming age foreseen by the larger sweep 
of faith. 

Read Isaiah 35. 

Note especially ransomed nature, vegetable (verses 
1, 2) and animal (verse 9), redeemed man (verses 
5-8), and restored Israel (verse 10). Sickness and 
sin, the great enemies of the human peace, shall be 
banished. Joy, singing, peace, and holiness shall 
take their place. 

1f9. Isaiah first of all reflects and repeats the 
messages of Amos and Hosea; but he goes beyond 
them, notably (1) in his emphasis on the holiness 
of God and on the demand for moral cleanness in 



<[2] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 59 

man, in which emphasis and demand he represents 
the incorporation of a priestly ideal into prophetic 
preaching; (2) in his tying his message to the temple 
and the organized religion of his day, though con- 
demning that religion and its round of meaningless 
sacrifices even more strenuously than did Amos; 
(3) in his ideal of personal forgiven sin; (4) in advanc- 
ing the Israelitish philosophy of history a step beyond 
Amos; (5) in his insistence upon the remnant idea; 
but, most important of all, (6) in his emphasis on 
faith and trust — not a blind, heedless, unmoral 
faith, such as Amos arraigns in the people, but a 
moral and moralized faith based on an idea of God 
as both just and loving, as Amos and Hosea had 
conceived of him; and as holy, too, according to 
Isaiah's own vision of him. Although Isaiah's union 
of prophetism with some of these more priestly ele- 
ments is developed by Ezekiel and goes to seed in 
Pharisaism, Isaiah's emphasis on faith and trust 
passes through Ezekiel and the apocalyptic writers 
into the Christianity of Jesus and Paul. 

§ 14. The Prophet in Action Again. 

Isaiah 36 to 39. 

Tfl. The passage treated in the present section 
is parallel with 2 Kings 18:13 to 20:19, the historical 
aspects of which passage are treated in the companion 
volume to the present one, "An Outline for the Study 
of Old Testament History," § 73. 

Sketch this passage in Kings and compare with 
Isaiah 36 to 39. Compare §10, If 5, especially (2). 

IT 2. The arguments of the Rabshakeh, or chief 
officer of Sennacherib, turns on three points: (a) 



60 An Outline of Old Testament [§14 

He has the same estimate of Egypt as Isaiah has. 
(6) He evidently knew of the shrines Hezekiah had 
surpressed in his effort to concentrate the worship 
in Jerusalem. Perhaps the Assyrians had found 
some priests and people in the already conquered 
territory who felt that Hezekiah had 'insulted and 
enangered Jehovah by this reform, and some proph- 
ets who hailed them as agents of Jehovah to avenge 
this insult; or perhaps Isaiah's prophecies of judg- 
ment upon Judah through Assyria had come to the 
Rabshakeh's ears, (c) But the Rabshakeh's more 
popular and strenuous appeal was to Assyria's 
demonstrated might and the futility of Judah's 
trust in her God when the gods of the other nations 
had proved powerless. 

Read Isaiah 36:1-20 and 37:8-13. 

H3. The people in obedience to the king's orders 
are silent; King Hezekiah goes to prayer; Isaiah 
comes forward with a message of faith. 

Read Isaiah 36:21 to 37:7 and 37:14-38. 

Isaiah's words are in line with the messages 
already studied. Endeavor at this point to get a 
clear view of the dramatic situation and the calm 
faith and the quiet, dominating personality of the 
prophet, 

1f4. The prophet and an individual king. 

Read Isaiah 38:1-8. 

(1) One gets here a different side of prophetic 
activity. Compare the careers of Elijah and Elisha, 
especially 2 Kings 1:1-4, 4:18-25; and for an older 
and more primitive parallel compare Samuel 9:5-10. 



If 2] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 61 

(2) Noting the hopelessness with reference to a 
future life, 

Read Hezekiah's song in Isaiah 38:9-22. 
If 5. A foreign embassy. 
Read Isaiah 39. 

§ 15. "The Servant of Jehovah" — A Pinnacle of Old Tes- 
tament Prophecy. 

Isaiah 40 to 53. 

Ifl. Note that the section is called "a" pinnacle, 
not "the" pinnacle of Old Testament prophecy. 
The latter designation would be in many ways 
justifiable, but when one thinks of Micah 6:1-6 or 
of Jeremiah's new-covenant religion of the heart, 
for example, one is rather impressed that each is 
greatest in its own sphere. One might just as well 
discuss whether Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" 
or Shakespeare's "King Lear" be the greater as to 
debate the relative greatness of these passages. In 
any event no loftier heights are reached in the Old 
Testament than the section under consideration. 

^J2. The greatness of God and the coming salva- 
tion. 

(1) Two facts face the prophet: 

(a) Israel feels that, though she has sinned, her 
punishment far outweighs her sin. 

Read Isaiah 40:2, last clause. 

(6) A new conqueror is arising in the East, Cyrus 
the Persian. Read Isaiah 41:2. A Creek might 
consider his coming as a mere chance turn of the 
wheel of fortune or the natural superiority of a new 
and vigorous race over a decaying one. To an 
Oriental it might mean that Cyrus is fostered by a 



62 An Outline of Old Testament [§15 

god more powerful than the gods of Babylon. Of 
an entirely different sort is 

(2) The prophet's solution to the problem. To 
him, Jehovah is supreme; nations and princes are 
as naught to him; his people have not been forgotten; 
their salvation is at hand. 

Noting (a) the tenderness and beauty of 41:1-11, 
with its message of comfort and its picture of Jehovah 
as a loving shepherd, and (b) the sublimity of the 
picture of the greatness of God as over against 
human forces and heathen idols, 

Read Isaiah 40:1 to 41:7. 

Isaiah's plea is for faith in God's workings in 
history, 40:31 to 41:2. 

If 3. The servant of Jehovah and his mission. 

(1) Israel, called first of all in Abraham and Jacob, 
is Jehovah's servant and need not fear. Other gods 
neither know the future nor control the forces of 
history. Jehovah is the powerful one who has raised 
up a new conqueror, spoken of mysteriously first as 
from the East, then as from the North (41:2 and 25), 
either because he is considered as from the Northeast 
or as arising in the East and coming upon Babylon 
from the North. 

Read Isaiah 41:8-29. 

(2) But Israel is not chosen to be a pampered 
puppet of Jehovah — the servant must serve. What 
is his great mission? 

Read Isaiah 42:1-13. 
Compare §3, f 5 (2). 

Jehovah's religion is for the world, but that it is 
not made world-wide as an enforced Kultur the 



ffG] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 63 

character of the servant guarantees. Note especially 
verse 3. 

If 4 But alas! Jehovah's servant is himself far 
from fit for such a task. 

(1) He is blind, unappreciative of Jehovah, and 
sinful. 

Read Isaiah 42:18-20, 43:8 and 22-28. 

(2) The nation will be forgiven and redeemed. 
Read Isaiah 43:25 and 44:21-23. 

(3) Israel must read carefully, too, the signs of 
the times. 

Read Isaiah 43:10, 11, 18, and 19. 

(4) Now considering these three points and noting 
the fresh description of the greatness of Jehovah 
and the nothingness of the idols, 

Read Isaiah 42:14 to 44:23. 

If 5. Hints have already been given concerning 
Cyrus, the future conqueror of Babylon and founder 
of the Persian world -empire, though his name has 
not been mentioned. The name and mission of the 
new conqueror are now given. Noting especially 
Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1 and 4-6, 

Read Isaiah 44:24 to 45:25. 

Prophecy has moved a long way from the popular 
religion of the days of Amos. It would have seemed 
very strange perhaps even to Amos that Jehovah 
not only punishes Israel through a foreign power, but 
restores and redeems her through a heathen prince. 
This deliverance of Israel is moreover only a stage 
in the world dominion and redemption of Jehovah. 

If 6. Babylon, whose temporary rule was an ex- 
pression not of human might but of God's over- 



64 An Outline of Old Testament [§15 

ruling purpose, shall fall. Nothing could be more 
timely at the present moment than this ancient 
interpretation of the meaning of the rise and fall 
of world empires. Noting especially Isaiah 47: 6, 7, 
and comparing Isaiah 10:5-14, 

Read chapters 46 and 47. 

If 7. Israel, the blind and sinful, is refined and 
purified in the furnace of affliction. 

Read Isaiah 48. 

II 8. The mission referred to in chapter 42 is the 
mission of this new and refined Israel, or remnant of 
Israel destined from the beginning to be the servant 
of Jehovah. 

Read Isaiah 49:1-6. 

Compare If 3 (2) and the reference there given: 
God's ultimate purpose is the salvation of the whole 
world. 

%9. Israel has felt forsaken, but Jehovah's love 
is undying and incomparable, and redemption is 
coming. 

Read Isaiah 49:7 to 50:3. 

If 10. Israel's fate has been such that despair has 
set in, as seen in 49 :14 and 40 : 27. She seems to have 
received double for all her sins (40:2), and Babylon 
in showing no mercy has gone too far (47:6). But 
vindication is coming, and triumph and restora- 
tion. 

Read Isaiah 50:4 to 52:12. 

<[11. Sometimes suffering is punishment for sin; 
sometimes it is a refiner's fire that purges the dross: 
but is this all? The prophet sees further. Some- 
times it is vicarious: Israel's suffering is for the world. 



If 12] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 65 

The prophet announces the doctrine that the stripes 
of one sufferer more righteous than the others may 
be the means of the healing of the many. 

Read Isaiah 52:13 to 53:12, the climax of the 
servant passages and one of the pinnacles of the 
world's literature and of Divine Revelation. The 
passage stands forth in its own simple grandeur; 
open your soul to its fascination and depth of mean- 
ing. 

f 12. Isaiah 53 comes out of the experience of the 
nation, and especially of the faithful ones in the 
nation who become the true Israel of God. Compare 
the career of Joseph, whom a radical commentary de- 
scribes as the favorite of Yahweh; 1 "but while Jacob's 
favoritism gave him a special coat (compare Gen. 
37:3, R. V. margin), Jehovah's favoritism brings him 
through slavery and prison to save many people 
alive."* 

Read Genesis 50:20; or, better, if time allows, read 
the whole story of Joseph in the light of your study 
of Isaiah 40 to 53, considering both as expressions 
of the Bible doctrine of election, then 

Read at a sitting Isaiah 40 to 53. 

Now, considering the relative failure of even the 
purified remnant of Israel to fulfill the ideal of Isaiah 
53, contemplate the New Testament application of 
the passage to Jesus in the early chapters of Acts, 
culminating in Acts 8. 

a See footnote, page 38, 

*"Outline for the Study of Old Testament History," 
§14, IF 8. 

5 



66 An Outline of Old Testament [§16 

§ 16. The Remaining Prophecies of the Book of Isaiah. 

Isaiah 54 to 66. 

Ifl. These chapters, Isaiah 54 to 66, are vari- 
ously grouped and subdivided. Chapter 54 is prob- 
ably a part of the preceding section, and was not 
considered there largely because the true climax of 
the "Servant of Jehovah" passages is in chapter 53. 
It will be well to treat these chapters topically and 
then to review them in the order in which they ap- 
pear. The principal themes discussed are: Israel's 
sin as a cause of her calamities, the need of repent- 
ance and reform, and the glorious future of the 
people of God. 

1(2. The present calamities and their cause. 

(1) The shepherds "shepherd themselves," to use 
Jude's fine phrase; they are "blind watchmen" and 
shepherd dogs that cannot bark and give the alarm; 
they do not care for the sheep. 

Read Isaiah 56:9 to 57:2. 

(2) Foreign worship and idolatries are set forth 
under the well-known figure of adultery, and with 
a realism natural to ancient Orientals. 

Read Isaiah 57:3-13. 

(3) Violations of the Sabbath prescriptions and of 
the ritual law are mentioned as another element of 
the national sinfulness. 

Read Isaiah 58:13, 14 and 65:1-7. 

(4) But the prophet stresses the socially immoral 
sins of oppression and falsification — these, and not 
the inability or unwillingness of Jehovah to save, are 
the causes of the national abasement. 

Read Isaiah 59:l-15a. 



ft 5] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 67 

Here as often mark and meditate upon the more 
striking passages. 

(5) A meditation and a prayer. 

Read Isaiah 63:7 to 64:12. 

Note the use of the term "Father," though not 
in the sense of father love; rather in the sense of 
originator and owner. God's past deliverance, the 
present desolation (63:18, 19, 64:12), and the pro- 
phetic call for patience and hope are finely expressed. 

113. A wonderfully beautiful call to repentance 
and promise of pardon and restoration to Divine 
favor occurs in chapter 55. 

Read the chapter; one might almost say, mem- 
orize it. Consider the tenderness of the nature of 
God as there set forth. 

Read also Isaiah 57:14-21. 

What is the name for God here used? 

Compare Isaiah 55:5 and §10, If 4 (2). 

If 4. The formal and false versus the human and 
true way to win God's favor, and the most character- 
istic mark of his Spirit's presence. 

Read Isaiah 58:1-12 and 61:1-3. 

These passages reflect the universal human mes- 
sage reenforced so characteristically by Jesus. The 
latter he quotes, in part, as his Messianic program. 
The former reflects the essence of much of his con- 
tention against the scribes of his day. 

1f5. The coming deliverance and transformation. 

(1) The happy restoration and future immunity. 

Read Isaiah 54. 

The reverse aspect of the figure used in 57:3-13 



68 An Outline of the Old Testament [§16 

(Tf2 (2), above) is here introduced. Note also the 
comparison with the promise to Noah and the almost 
rabbinical ideal of being "taught of Jehovah' ' (verse 
13). 

(2) The Sabbath and the ritual violations re- 
ferred to in If 2 (3) shall cease. 

Read Isaiah 66. 

Note especially verses 17 and 23. 

(3) Vengeance upon an ancient foe is one aspect 
of oppressed Israel's hope. Heathen peoples that 
have oppressed Israel shall see her glory and shall 
atone by aiding in the restoration. 

Read Isaiah 63:1-6, 59:156 to 60:16, and 61:4 
to 62:12. 

(4) Eunuchs and foreigners shall share the sal- 
vation of Jehovah. 

Read Isaiah 56:1-8. 

Note especially the ideal of the last part of verse 
7, quoted by Jesus as one the Jews of his day had 
trampled upon (Mark 11:17). 

(5) The whole nation by virtue merely of Abra- 
hamic descent shall not inherit the glorious fu- 
ture, but whom? 

Read Isaiah 65:8-16. 

(6) Peace and righteousness shall dominate the 
coming time. 

Read Isaiah 65:17-25 and 60:17-22. 

Note especially 65: 25 and 60:21, and consider the 
moral and spiritual quality of the prophetic hope. 

1f 6. Now, in the light of your studies by topics, 

Read the entire section, Isaiah 54 to 66, at a 
sitting, in the order given in the Bible. 



CHAPTER V 

JEREMIAH 
§ 17. A New Crisis and a New Prophet. 

Jeremiah 1 to 6. 

If 1. The age of Jeremiah. 

Read Jeremiah 1 : 1-3. 

Two facts are worthy of remark: Jeremiah's 
ministry begins near the time of the Great Refor- 
mation under Josiah; it covers the earlier period of 
Judah's national disaster and captivity. 

If 2. The prophet's call and mission. 

Read Jeremiah 1:4-19. 

Compare Amos 7:14, 15 and Isaiah 6. Wherein 
does Jeremiah's call differ from the other two calls? 
Paul, like Jeremiah, felt himself set apart from birth 
(Gal. 1:15). 

Paul also felt himself commissioned to a larger 
world than Israel. Compare Jeremiah 1:10 and 
Galatians 1:16. 

What is the form of Jehovah's message? Com- 
pare Amos 7:7, 8:1, Isaiah 6. See §3, ^[1. 

Whence does the threatened invasion come? 
What is Israel's chief sin (verse 16) in Jeremiah's 
view? Is this viewpoint more like that of Amos or 
of Hosea? 

If3. The national sin. 

Read Jeremiah 2:1-13. 

Note especially the terse, pertinent question of 
verse 11 and the strong and pathetic figure of verse 
13. Could anything be more expressive? 

(69) 



70 An Outline of Old Testament [§17 

1 4. Jeremiah takes up Hosea's figure and carries 
it to the limit in a terribly realistic picture of na- 
tional apostasy. 

Read Jeremiah 2:14-28. 

1f5. Persistence in sin in spite of the Divine warn- 
ing. 

Read Jeremiah 2:29 to 3:9. 

What two forms did the warnings take (3:3 and 
8)? What is the result of the warnings (2:30)? 
Compare Amos 4:6-12. 

1f6. God's plaintive call to repentance. 

Read Jeremiah 3:10 to 4:4. 

Compare Hosea 14. The passage is noteworthy 
for its signal spiritualization of religion. Not only 
stocks and stones (2:27), but the sacred ark itself is 
declared unnecessary to mediate between man and 
God (3:16); and the national rite of circumcision is 
discounted by the spiritual ideal of 4:4 in a way that 
may well have formed the basis of Paul's great 
emancipation of Christianity from the bonds of 
legalism and ceremony. 

Tf7. The Lion of the North and the forthcoming 
destruction. 

Read Jeremiah 4:5-26 and 6:1-12 and 22-30. 

If 8. Jehovah's purpose, however, is not destruc- 
tion, but chastisement: he will not utterly destroy 
Israel. 

Read Jeremiah 4:27 to 5:18. 

Note particularly 4:27, and 5:10 and 18. This 
doctrine runs through a large part of Hebrew thought. 
Compare Isaiah's doctrine of the remnant. What 



fll] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 71 

remarkable doctrine appears in 5: 1? Compare Gen- 
esis 18:32 and Isaiah 53. 

1f 9. What are the several aspects of Israel's sin? 

Read Jeremiah 5:19-31 and 6:13-21. 

In 5:20 sin is foolishness; in 4:14 the priestly ideal 
of sin as uncleanness appeared ; but more germane 
to the prophetic character is 5:23, sin as rebellious- 
ness. 

Note especially: 

(a) 5:26 (last phrase), 5:28-31,6:13. 

(b) "Unshockability" as a horrible state of mind 
(6:15). "Alas," said a distinguished Frenchman, 

"for our times; there is no more hypocrisy among 
us." There is one thing worse than hypocrisy: 
shamelessness — such a brazen disregard of virtue 
as to take away any motive for hypocrisy. 

(c) 6:14, with its classic and oft-quoted words, 
made familiar to Americans particularly by Patrick 
Henry's famous speech. 

(d) Jeremiah's emphasis, like Hosea's, on religious 
loyalty to Jehovah (5:24). This, in fact, is the 
burden of the whole arraignment in chapters 1 
to 6. 

Tf 10. Now with what you have studied in mind, at 
a single sitting, 
Read Jeremiah 1-6. 

§ 18. Some Great Prophetic Messages to Judah. 

Jeremiah 7 to 45, in part. 

1f 1. No suggested division of the book of Jeremiah 
has found general acceptance. The book seems a 
collection of incidents and prophecies without strict 



72 An Outline of Old Testament [§18 

logical or chronological order. One thing is obvious: 
while Amos or Hosea, like John the Baptist, seems a 
voice rather than a personality, and while Isaiah 
seems only slightly less so, Jeremiah is a human 
being with flesh and bones moving up and down the 
land. The various aspects of his personal life and 
career are as clear as the life and career of Jesus. 
It will be convenient to discuss first the more general 
prophecies of the book, and then to consider those 
portions bearing more directly upon the personal 
career and character of the prophet. This method 
may seem arbitrary. The answer is: So must, in the 
study of the book of Jeremiah, any other method or 
division be. 

If 2. The temple worship versus righteousness and 
loyalty to Jehovah. 

(1) The people of Judah were putting their trust 
in the sacredness of the temple — a trust perhaps 
increased greatly by Isaiah's prediction of the de- 
liverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrian armies. 
''Bethel might fall, where Jeroboam's bull images 
of Jehovah were, but not the holy hill of Zion," 
thought they. Jeremiah, himself a descendant of the 
old priesthood of Shiloh, 1 cites the destruction of 
Shiloh, the ancient shrine of the ark of the cove- 
nant, and as such Jerusalem's real predecessor. 

Comparing §17, <[6, 

Read Jeremiah 7:12-16. 

1 Abiathar, scion of the house of Eli, having sided with 
Adonijah, was supplanted in the priesthood by Zadok, 
who sided with Solomon, and was banished to Anathoth. 
(1 Kings 1, especially verse 7, and 1 Kings 2:26, 27.) 



fl5] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 73 

(2) What was the sin of the people? and what 
will result therefrom? 

Read Jeremiah 7:8-11, 17-20, and 7:29 to 8:17. 

Note that there is a moral and a specifically re- 
ligious aspect of their sin and that several special 
moral sins are mentioned. What are they? Com- 
pare Jeremiah 7:11 and Isaiah 56:7b, and Jesus's 
combination of the two passages in Mark 11:17. 

What is Jeremiah's estimate of the prophetism 
and priesthood of his day? 8:10, 11; compare 6:13, 
14 and 5:30, 31. 

Read also Jeremiah 13:12-17. 

(3) The human sacrifices versus the demand for 
a righteous life. 

Read Jeremiah 7:21-28 and 7:1-7. Compare the 
messages of Amos, Hosea, and Micah, especially 
Micah 6:1-8. 

IT 3. A plea for the Old Covenant. 

Read Jeremiah 9:3-22 and 11:1-17. 

<[4. The greatness of God. 

Read Jeremiah 10:1-22. 

Tf5. What is the prophet's view of man in relation 
to God? 

Read Jeremiah 9:23, 24, 10:23-25, and 17:5-11. 

Consider, according to your time and inclination, 
the new points of view reflected in these passages. 
Do the same with future ones. A good commentary 
will help in such a study. Too much detail in the 
present text would lead far beyond the scope of the 
work; and the student should take care not to let 
such detailed study becloud his general view of 
Old Testament prophetism. 



74 An Outline of Old Testament [§18 

If 6. Sin as habit rather than a series of single 
acts. Noting especially the oft-quoted verse 23, 

Read Jeremiah 13:20-27. 

If 7. Distress ahead, but beyond it deliverance. 

Read Jeremiah 12:7-17, 16:10 to 17:4,"and 12-27. 

If 8. The new shepherds and the righteous branch 
of David. 

Read Jeremiah 23:1-8 and 33:14-26. 

Compare Isaiah 11:1-5. 

If 9. God will not make a full end: Judah and Israel 
both shall be restored. Note particularly the re- 
currence of Hosea's idea of God's fatherly love in 
31:3, 9, and 20, and of Amos's phrase, "The virgin 
of Israel." Observe also that Jeremiah, in chapter 
30 as elsewhere, seems to delight in figures relating 
to medicine and healing. Compare Luke- Acts in 
the New Testament. 

Read Jeremiah 30:4 to 31:28. 

If 10. The higher individualism in the new era. 

Read Jeremiah 31:29,30. 

Tfll. The heart and the climax of the book of 
Jeremiah. 

There is no more revolutionary step in the history 
of the Old Testament religion than the announce- 
ment of a covenant written not upon tables of stone 
but upon the heart, with its concomitant contrast 
between circumcision of the flesh and circumcision 
of the heart. Here the Hebrew prophet prepares the 
way for Jesus and Paul. This spiritualization of 
religion is to be reckoned alongside of Isaiah 53 as 
a pinnacle of Old Testament prophecy. 

Read Jeremiah 31:31-40 and 9:25, 26; 31:31-34 



flC] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 75 

might well be memorized. Futher comment is unnec- 
essary. Drink in the greatness of this teaching. 

§ 19. The Oracles Concerning the Nations. 

Jeremiah 46 to 51. 

Ifl. Amos (1:1 to 2:3) had used the coming judg- 
ment upon the nations as an introduction to his 
message on the judgment about to befall Israel; and 
a large section of Isaiah is given to "The burden" 
of the nations (13 to 23). Jeremiah's activity is in 
the larger world, and according to 1:10 he is in an 
especial sense set as a prophet over the nations. 
These oracles predicting the destruction of neigh- 
boring nations and empires do not seem very vital 
to moderns; but to the ancient Hebrew it was as if 
a prophet should, speaking as the mouthpiece of 
God, have foretold the downfall of Germany to 
Belgium or France during the anxious months from 
August, 1914, to August, 1918. Read these oracles 
with this analogy in mind. 

1f2. Ever on the horizon of Israel was the power- 
ful empire of Egypt. 

Read Jeremiah 46. 

The chapter contains two oracles, the second 
beginning with verse 13. Compare Isaiah's oracles 
concerning Egypt (Isaiah 18 to 20) : What was the 
burden of them? 

f3. Philistiawas a nation of non-Semitic people 
especially despised by the Hebrews as "uncircum- 
cised." The sword of Jehovah has a charge against 
it. 

Read Jeremiah 47. 



76 An Outline of Old Testament [§19 

If 4. Moab, Ammon, and Edom are closer kinsmen. 

Read Jeremiah 48:1 to 49:22. 

Note that a restoration of these peoples is pre- 
dicted in 48:47, 49:6 and 11. Consider also the terse 
description of the Edomite mountaineers in 49:16. 
What is mentioned as Moab's sin in 48:26 and 42? 

If 5. In earlier days Syria, with Damascus as its 
capital, was a determined rival and foe; and still 
earlier Arab tribes were a frequent menace and 
scourge. It is not altogether clear why a special 
oracle concerning Elam should find a place here: 
restoration is predicted of her as of Moab and Am- 
mon. 

Read Jeremiah 49:23-39. 

Note particularly the prophet's view of tribal life 
in verse 31. 

Tf6. In the days of Amos the Israelites looked 
for Jehovah's wrath upon the nations, but deemed 
themselves, as his chosen people, immune therefrom. 
Amos preached a different view, and used his oracles 
concerning the nations as an introduction to his in- 
sistence that the leaders and grandees of Israel have 
been guilty of the same sort of oppression and 
cruelty toward the poor of their own people as the 
neighboring nations had been guilty of toward 
foreign peoples. God, who acts from moral, not from 
partisan, motives, would punish both Israel and the 
nations equally. The situation changes somewhat in 
later times. Israel feels only too well the chastening 
hand of Jehovah. A series of oracles concerning 
the neighboring nations would, therefore, find its 
climax, not as with Amos in judgment upon Israel, 



fl2] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 77 

but in the anticipated destruction of the arch- . 
despoiler, Babylon. Noting especially 51:7-9,37, 
and 58, 

Read Jeremiah 50:1 to 51:64. 

Note: 

(a) The pitiable fate of Israel (50:17). Why did 
the people go astray (50:6)? 

(6) The majesty of Israel's God, supreme over 
the nations, carrying out his own purpose in the 
ongoing of history. Read in succession the fol- 
lowing: 50:18 and 23,51:11 and 15, 16. 

The sequence of world empires is subordinate to 
God's will. As frequently the typical example of 
Jehovah's judgment is cited in 50:40. 

(c) The redemption to come, 50:5, 34, 45. 

§ 20. Prophecies Interwoven with the Biographical Woof 
Showing the Personal Career, Fortunes, and 
Method of the Prophet. 

Jeremiah, <passim. 

1fl. Jeremiah speaks many oracles of judgment, 
but he is no mere prophet of denunciation; rather 
does his sympathetic heart so identify itself with the 
fortunes of his people that denunciation gives place 
to lamentation. 

Read Jeremiah 8:18 to 9:2. 

This is one of the sad, beautiful passages of the 
book: all is hopeless; the prophet is broken-hearted. 

If 2. Prophets had long since been commanded to 
"prophesy not" (Amos 2:12, 7:12, 13), but the life of 
Jeremiah is sought after by his homefolk. 

Read Jeremiah 11:18-23; read also 15:10-21 and 
18:18-23. 



78 An Outline of Old Testament [§20 

What is Jehovah's assurance to the prophet? 

Notice that three types of religious leaders — 
prophet, priest, and "wise" man — are mentioned 
in 18:18. Compare §9, 1f2, and ^[4 (2), last portion. 

1f 3. The personal experience of the prophet, linked 
perhaps with the experience of the nation, gives rise 
to the great prophetic problem. 

Read Jeremiah 12:1-6. 

This problem has already been discussed, es- 
pecially in connection with Isaiah 53. It will be met 
again preeminently in the study of Job. 

H 4. Quite indicative of prophetic method, whether 
the story be a parable or an incident enacted as a 
parable, is the narrative of the linen loin-cloth. 

Read Jeremiah 13:1-11. 

What sin of Judah is here stressed? And what is 
the purport of the parable? 

If 5. The prophet sends a bold message to the king, 
presumably Jehoiachin, and the queen mother. 

Read Jeremiah 13:18, 19. 

Yet bolder activity is to follow. 

1f 6. The debate between the prophet and Jehovah. 

(1) The message concerning the drought and the 
command not to pray for "this people." 

Read Jeremiah 14:1-12. Compare 7:16, 11:14. 

(2) The prophet urges an excuse for the masses 
of the people and calls attention to the covenant. 
Noting particularly verses 14 and 18b, 

Read Jeremiah 14:13-22. 

(3) Jehovah makes answer. 
Read Jeremiah 15:1-9. 



fflO] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 79 

f 7. What is the reason for the prophet's celi- 
bacy? 

Read Jeremiah 16:1-9. 

Compare Paul. 

If 8. The potter and his vessels. Comparing par- 
ticularly 18:4 and 19:10, 

Read Jeremiah 18:1-17 and 19:1-15. 

What doctrine does each passage convey? Is 
there any difference in the two representations be- 
tween the unfinished unhardened vessel in the hands 
of the potter and the finished one? Compare chap- 
ter 19 with 7:29-34. 

How does Jeremiah 18:7-11 affect or modify the 
seeming determinism or "Calvinism" of the figures 
of the potter's vessels and their applications? 

H" 9. The persecuted prophet and his sad dilemma. 

Read Jeremiah 20. 

Meditate upon verses 7-9. Compare PauPs "Woe 
is me if I preach not the gospel." Which seems to 
weigh upon the prophet the more, physical pun- 
ishment or the derision and scorn of his folk? 

Compare 1(2 and the references there given. 

If 10. The king's inquiry of the oracle and the 
prophetic doctrine of surrender and submission. 

Read Jeremiah 21. 

Whenever there is an impending invasion, those 
in charge of a nation's affairs have to decide whether 
to resist or submit. To withstand when all the odds 
are untoward is sometimes supreme courage, some- 
times foolhardiness. Only rarely do situations arise 
where victory or death are the only honorable 
alternatives, though merely thinking them so raises 



SO An Outline of Old Testament [§20 

the morale of an army or people. Jeremiah main- 
tained the uselessness of resistance to Babylon, not 
chiefly because of Babylon's power, but because of 
his own philosophy of history. Israel's sin demanded 
Divine punishment. Men who counsel as Jeremiah 
did, as well as men who lead, on the other hand, 
unsuccessful revolutions, are apt to be counted trai- 
tors. What is Jeremiah's council? Compare Mi- 
caiah ben-Imlah when Ahab sent to inquire of Jeho- 
vah through him (1 Kings 22). 

If 11. The prophet and the king. 

Read Jeremiah 22. 

What is Jeremiah's doctrine of the cause of nation- 
al prosperity (verses 3, 4 and 15, 16)? Consider 
the boldness of the prophet's rebuke of the king. 
Compare 13:18. Jeremiah was frequently a sad, 
despairing man, but he was no whining puppet. 
Note especially verses 18, 19, and 24-30. 

^[12. Jeremiah's battle is not only with the po- 
litical but also with the popular religious leaders: 
he withstands and denounces both the priests and 
the prophets of the popular religion. 

Read Jeremiah 23:9-40. Compare 14:13-19. 

What specific charges does he bring against them? 

If 13. The popular prophets were predicting a short 
captivity; "Jehovah would not forsake his people," 
thought they. Jeremiah calls attention to the per- 
sistence of their refusal to hearken to Jehovah and 
to the depth of their sin. 

Read Jeremiah 25:1-11. 

How long had Jeremiah been preaching to Israel 
at this time? What length of time did he predict 



fll8] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 81 

for the captivity? Do you think he meant to give 
exact figures, or to oppose the "short-time theory," 
by insisting that even the babes carried away would 
have time enough to live out the natural span of 
human life before the return? 

Note that Nebuchadnezzar is called Jehovah's 
servant. Compare Isaiah 44:28 to 45:1. 

Tfl4. The judgment of Babylon. 

Read Jeremiah 25:12-38. 

Note especially verses 29 and 31. Compare 
chapters 50 and 51. 

1fl5. Another practical problem arose out of a 
tendency on the part of those left in the land to think 
that Jehovah favored them as over against the 
captives. What parable does Jeremiah utter to give 
his view on this question? And what is that view? 

Read Jeremiah 24. 

If 16. The prophet in action. 

(1) The opposition. 
Read Jeremiah 26 : 1-15. 

(2) The opposition is severe, but it must not 
be thought that Jeremiah has no following. 

Read Jeremiah 26:16-19. 

What older prophet is cited? What was his mes- 
sage? And how was it received? 

1f 17. Not all bold prophets escape with the lot of 
Micah or even of Jeremiah. What was Uriah's 
fate? 

Read Jeremiah 26:20-24. 

If 18. The prophet's vivid object lesson enforcing 
his idea of submission to Babylon, and the conflict 
with Hananiah. 
6 



82 An Outline of Old Testament [§20 

Read Jeremiah 27 and 28. 

Recount the narrative in your own words. 

1fl9. Prophetic correspondence. 

Read Jeremiah 29. 

What is the prophet's advice to the Babylonian 
exiles? What was his message to certain popular 
prophets? What was Shemaiah's query? And what 
Jeremiah's reply? 

Could this correspondence have in any degree 
furnished Paul with his model of letter-writing? 

1f20. The prophet's first book. 

Read Jeremiah 30:1-3. 

If 21. Why was Jeremiah imprisoned? 

Read Jeremiah 32:1-5. 

If 22. What purchase does Jeremiah make and 
what message does he mean to enforce thereby? 

Read Jeremiah 32:6-44. 

If 23. The message of hope from the prison walls. 

Read Jeremiah 33:1-13. 

If 24. What message from Jehovah does the proph- 
et have for Zedekiah? 

Read Jeremiah 34:1-5. 

1[25. Relate the incident of the treachery of the 
slaveholders and recount the prophet's rebuke with 
the incident as his text. 

Read Jeremiah 34:6-22. 

If 26. Relate the incident concerning the Rech- 
abites and state in your own words the lesson the 
prophet sought to enforce by it. 

Read Jeremiah 35. 

These incidents recorded in chapters 32, 34, and 
35 are very instructive upon the subject of pro- 



1J32] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 83 

phetic method. Compare Jeremiah 27 : 1-4, 28 : 5-17, 
and Isaiah 20. 

Notice that the lesson is one of loyalty to princi- 
ples; the prophet does not indorse the Rechabite 
standards and has no thought here of condemning 
wine. The Rechabites held to the desert manner of 
living, deeming, it seems, agriculture and settled life 
a departure from the religion of Jehovah. Jeremiah 
urges that as they are true to their ancestral pledge, 
even though driven of necessity temporarily into 
the city, so Israel should be loyal to the will of 
Jehovah as they interpret that will. 

If 27. Tell the story of the fate of Jeremiah's book. 

Read Jeremiah 36:1-26. 

If 28. How does Jeremiah meet the situation? 

Read Jeremiah 36:27-32, noting particularly verses 
28 and 32. 

If 29. Relate the story of Jeremiah's relation to 
the crisis under Zedekiah and meditate upon its 
picture of the prophet. 

Read Jeremiah 37 to 39. 

Tf30. What was Jeremiah's choice of residence 
after the catastrophe? 

Read Jeremiah 40:1-6. 

If 31. The new regime and the conspiracy of Ish- 
mael. 

Read Jeremiah 40:7 to 42:18. 

If 32. The question of flight into Egypt. 

Read Jeremiah 42:1 to 43:7. 

To Jeremiah flight into Egypt meant distrust 
of Jehovah and probably rebellion against his chas- 
tisement. It was, furthermore, freighted with danger 



S4 An Outline of Vie Old Testament [§20 

to the true worship of Jehovah. Compare Isaiah 
upon Egypt in a somewhat different situation. 

When decision to go to Egypt is reached, either 
Jeremiah and Baruch are forced to go, or they go 
along feeling their task to be rather with the people 
than with the land. 

If 33. The prophet to the fugitives. 

Read Jeremiah 43:8 to 44:30. 

There were two explanations of the current dis- 
aster (44:17, 18, and 23). Josiah, the great reform 
king, fell in battle and the Babylonian conquest 
soon followed. To many it seemed as if Jehovah had 
proved powerless; but Jeremiah remains true to the 
prophetic doctrine and to himself and his God. He 
predicts the ruin of Egypt and of those that put 
their trust in Egypt. 

If 34. A personal message to Baruch. 

Read Jeremiah 45. 

1f35. A historical appendix concerning Zedekiah 
and Jehoiachin. 

Read Jeremiah 52. 

Compare the account in 2 Kings 24 and 25. 



CHAPTER VI 

EZEKIEL 
§21. Ezekiel's Arraignment of Judah. 

Ezekiel 1 to 24. 

Tfl. The prophecies of Ezekiel are not a mere col- 
lection of oracles and incidents; they form a real 
book, the parts of which follow each other as chap- 
ters of one continuous treatise. Ezekiel marks, 
therefore, quite an advance in literary history. The 
style, too, is more studied and full, though not equal 
in literary terseness and power to some of the earlier 
prophetic writings. Says Driver: 

The book of Ezekiel consists of three sections, deal- 
ing with three different subjects: I. Chapters 1-24, The 
Approaching Fall of Jerusalem; II. Chapters 25-32, 
Prophecies on Foreign Nations; III. Chapters 33-48, Is- 
rael's Future Restoration. The dates of the several 
prophecies are in many cases stated with precision. No 
critical question arises in connection with the authorship 
of the book, the whole from beginning to end bearing 
unmistakably the stamp of a single mind.* 

If 2. The prophet's call: a seven-day prophetic 
trance-vision. 

Ezekiel 1:1 to 3:22. 

(1) Far from his native land, a captive priest by 
a Babylonian stream (or canal) sees a vision and 
hears the call of Jehovah. 

Read Ezekiel 1:1-3. 

This was a significant fact to an ancient people 

♦"Introduction to the Literature of the Old Testament," 
page 279. 

(85) 



SO An Outline of Old Testament [§21 

who regarded a nation's God as attached to the 
homeland. It marks a triumph of the prophetic 
preaching of the greatness of Israel's God and of his 
moral as opposed to his merely national character. 

(2) The first vision of the likeness of the glory 
of Jehovah. 

Read Ezekiel 1:4-28. 

One feels oneself in a new atmosphere here. The 
greatest distance between the prophets previously 
studied and Ezekiel is not that measured by the 
highway from Jerusalem to Babylon, but is in the 
realm of prophetic style and method. 

Compare the calls of Amos (Amos 7:14, 15) 
and Jeremiah (Jer. 1:4-10). Isaiah's call is of 
a type midway between these and that of Ezekiel. 
May it be that, though Jeremiah and Ezekiel are 
both priests and nearly contemporaries, Isaiah and 
Ezekiel are more closely allied in many ways because 
both come from the environment of the Jerusalem 
temple? Compare the less developed visions of 
Amos in Amos 7:7-9, 8:1-3, 9:1-4. There may have 
been intervening prophets whose style and method 
were intermediate between those of Isaiah and 
Ezekiel. The prophecies of some of these may not 
have been committed to writing; the writings of 
others may not have come down to modern times. 
Whether some are extant in the Old Testament 
involves questions of date and authorship beyond 
the scope of the present study. 

Isaiah's vision could be put on canvas and would 
make, if a highly fantastic, yet a wonderfully effec- 
tive mystic picture. This vision of Ezekiel, if painted 



fl2]_ Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 87 

on canvas, would appear grotesque: it is well within 

the realm of symbolism, where the unified picture is 

subordinate to the meaning of detailed aspects. 3 

Note verses 8, 17, and 18. H. P. Smith says: 

Ezekiel gives a detailed description of the vision which 
convinced him of his prophetic misson, and in it we dis- 
cover the influence of ancient Israelite tradition. What 
he saw was a mighty cloud interfused with fire, in which 
as it drew nearer he discovered four living creatures, 
each with four faces and four wings. Beneath them were 
four wheels and in the middle space an altar fire. Above 
was a throne, and on it a human form of supernal bright- 
ness, which he discovered to be Yahweh 1 himself. The 
whole is called by the prophet the glory of Yahweh (1: 
28). The thundercloud, in which the earliest Israelite 
belief saw the chariot of Yahweh, seems to furnish the 
basis for the vision. The composite figures which ap- 
pear in it are the cherubim which guarded the ark in 
the temple of Solomon. The altar fire is that of the tem- 
ple itself. The originality of the prophet is to be found, 
not in the details of the vision, but in the use which he 
makes of them. The cherubim are transformed into 
supporters of the throne; the altar is made movable that 
it may accompany Yahweh in his wanderings. The 
wheels are to show that Yahweh is not found in a single 
spot, but can move freely to all quarters of the earth.* 

aCompare hieroglyphic writing and ancient symbolic 
art. When ancient art represented the artistic instinct 
and wanted to paint a picture, it sought a likeness to 
natural or ideal objects; when it wanted to say some- 
thing, it took such short cuts as formed the first steps 
toward an alphabet, or it put together such incongruous 
objects as a human head and an animal to symbolize intel- 
ligence plus strength. 

*See footnote on page 38. 

*"The Religion of Israel," pages 198 and 199. 



88 An Outline of Old Testament [§21 

In the light of the above discussion, 
Reread the first chapter of Ezekiel. 

(3) What is Jehovah's description of Israel and 
of the prospects awaiting a true prophet to the na- 
tion? 

Read Ezekiel 2:1 to 3:11. 

Note especially the strange imagery of eating 
the book. 

(4) The close of the vision and the prophet's 
commission. 

Read Ezekiel 3:12-22. 

Note the seven days (verses 15 and 16). Under 
what figure is Ezekiel's mission represented? and 
what is the form of his commission? This concep- 
tion will be met again later. 

If 3. The second vision and Jehovah's injunctions 
through it to the prophet. 

Ezekiel 3:22 to 7:27. 

(1) The second vision, which is not described at 
any length, shuts the prophet's mouth and com- 
mands a series of pantomimes and symbolic actions 
such as have already been seen to be characteristic 
of the prophets. Comparing first Isaiah 20:3, Jere- 
miah 28:10-13, 35:1-19, 

Read Ezekiel 3:23 to 5:4. 

Ezekiel 3 : 23 reports the fulfillment of the com- 
mand of the preceding verse. 

Four distinct symbolic actions are commanded: 
concerning the tile, the lying on one side and then 
the other, the food and drink, and the hair and 
beard cut with a sword. Describe each of these in 
your own words and state the lessons intended by 



1f4] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 89 

them. Possibly the incidents of 3:25 and 26 and 
6:11 should be added to these four. 

(2) Noting again 3:27, 

Read Ezekiel 5:5 to 7:27. 

Note the arraignment of Jerusalem (5:5-17) and 
of the mountains of Israel (6:1-7), the doctrine of 
the remnant and the national repentance (6:8-10,) 
and the picture of "the end" (6:11 to 7:27). 

If 4. The third vision: Jehovah's departure from 
the temple. 

Ezekiel 8 to 11. 

(1) Compare 1:2 and 8:1. 

During his short career the new prophet seems to 
have made sufficient impression to have caused his 
house to become somewhat of a rendezvous for 
leaders. 

(2) What abominations are successively men- 
tioned? 

Read Ezekiel 8:5, 7-12, 14 and 16. 

(a) The digging through of 8:7-9 "implies that 
the cult was secret; not that the worshipers feared 
punishment on discovery, but because the mystery 
worship is only for the initiated."* Tammuz of 
8:14 "is the Babylonian Duzu, from Dumu-zu; the 
name is not Semitic, and is therefore attributed 
to the supposed older or Sumerian element in Babylo- 
nian life. He is the god of spring vegetation, who 
dies (goes down to Hades) and revives again with 
the returning summer (July was the month of the 



♦Lofthouse, "Ezekiel," The New Century Bible, pages 
97 and 98. 



90 An Outline of Old Testament [§21 

festival). Ishtar, the goddess of fertility, goes down 
to Hades to seek for him. His worship is as familiar 
to us as that of Adonis, celebrated in later times 
with especial pomp in Syria. The story of Venus 
and Adonis is simply the Oriental nature-myth in a 
Western dress; in Egypt it appears under the form 
of the Osiris cult (see J. G. Frazer, 'Golden Bough/ 
I., 287, and 'Adonis/ 'Attis/ 'Osiris')."* 

(b) Note the successive steps in Jehovah's de- 
parture. 

Read Ezekiel 9:3, 10:4 and 18, 11:23. 

(c) With these points in mind, and noting fur- 
ther the individualism of 9:4, the stern coolness of 
the "man with the inkhorn," and the death of Pel- 
atiah, 

Read Ezekiel 8:1 to 11:25. 

(3) The basis of the prophecy just read is the 
foreign "abominations" imported into Jerusalem, 
on the one hand, and on the other a feeling amongst 
those Israelites not taken into captivity that they 
were divinely favored as over against the captives. 
Ezekiel's doctrine is that Jehovah leaves the polluted 
temple and himself becomes a sanctuary in a foreign 
land. The possibilities of this view for the spirit- 
ualization of religion are obvious. 

Reread 11:14-25, noting especially verses 19 and 
20. Compare Jeremiah 31:31-34 and §18, Tfll. 
The attempt to make a righteous people and an ideal 
social order by law and punishment fails. (Compare 
God's successive efforts at redemption of the race 

♦Book last cited, page 99. 



fl5] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 91 

through the election of Noah and Abraham.*) God 
now proposes to regenerate the people, to change 
their natures. 

If 5. The sermons of judgment. 

Ezekiel 12 to 24. 

(1) In these chapters the prophet turns from the 
high-flown vision style to the prophetic sermon and 
oracle met with in the prophets previously studied. 
He still characteristically retains much symbolic 
action and parable. 

(2) The symbolic "moving-day." 
Read Ezekiel 12:1-20. 

(3) What was the popular feeling about the proph- 
et's visions? and what in turn did Ezekiel think of 
the popular prophets and prophetesses? Noting 
especially 13:10, 

Read Ezekiel 12:21 to 13:23. 

(4) What is Jehovah's answer to the attempted 
inquiry of the divine oracle? 

Read Ezekiel 14. 

Compare the individualism of verses 14 and 20 
with Jeremiah 5:1, Genesis 18:22-33, and Isaiah 53. 

Note in verse 21 the four great enemies of primitive 
social welfare. 

(5) What is the purport of EzekiePs parable of 
the vine? 

Read Ezekiel 15. 

(6) Tell the story of EzekiePs parable of the 
foundling-adulteress. 

Read Ezekiel 16. 

*See the "Outline for the Study of Old Testament His- 
tory," §§ 5, 6, and 7, and pages 194-199. 



92 An Outline of Old Testament [§21 

Recall how this figure of Hosea's runs through 
the prophetic writings. Notice that Ezekiel carries 
the rebelliousness of Israel back to the beginning; 
he does not idealize the distant past nor speak as if 
recent years marked a forsaking of ancient perfect 
ways. He also arraigns Judah as worse than Israel 
or Sodom. Note the extreme irony of verse 33. 

What of the future (verses 42 and 53-63)? Note 
that it is not Judah alone that is to be restored. 

(7) The parable or riddle of the eagles and the 
cedar. What is its purport? 

Read Ezekiel 17. 

This parable might be compared with Isaiah 5:1-7. 
Isaiah's is a more natural, simple parable; Ezekiel's 
is a fanciful fable and allegory. Isaiah's attacks so- 
cial wrong; Ezekiel's has a more theological inter- 
est. 

(8) A classic expression of ancient individualism. 
Noting the implication of verse 3, 

Read Ezekiel 18. 

In what way did the doubters question God's deal- 
ing with men (verses 25 and 2)? Note Ezekiel's sum- 
mary on moral conduct in verses 5-9. Note also the 
wonderful plea for penitence and its reflection of the 
tenderer side of Ezekiel's conception of God. 

It is easy to misunderstand the prophetic relation 
to the individual and individualism. When Amos 
draws a line between the oppressed and the oppressor 
within the nation and when he condemns specifically 
the wealthy women, individualism is already born. 
Nor is it absent from his successors. On the other 
hand, it is easy to overemphasize the individualism 



i]"5] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 93 

of Jeremiah and Ezekiel as expressed here and in 
Ezekiel 14 and Jeremiah 31:29. These prophets 
think of the individual as a member through his 
righteousness of the ideal community that God is 
trying to set up in the world as the goal of the forces 
of history. Furthermore, Ezekiel does not neglect 
the ideas of the taint in the blood and racial solidar- 
ity. Here perhaps he is rather a preacher dealing 
with a particular problem than a systematic theolo- 
gian presenting a complete theodicy. The passage 
marks an era, nevertheless, in the advance from the 
earlier societistic a viewpoint to the higher individ- 
ualism within the divine social order. Compare (4), 
above. 

(9) The parables of the lioness and her whelps and 
of the vine. 

Read Ezekiel 19. 

The two whelps seem to have been the royal half- 
brothers, Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim (2 Kings 23:31- 
36). The lioness is either the queen mother or the 
nation. 

(10) The elder's inquiry and Ezekiel's wholesale 
arraignment of Israel's past and present. 

Read Ezekiel 20 to 23. 

Chapters 20 and 23 arraign the past; the former 
more literally, the latter in a comprehensive parable, 
Orientally~realistic and scathing, carrying out Hosea's 

aThe word "socialistic" has unfortunately been cap- 
tured by upholders of certain economic and governmental 
creeds. The best substitutes for what "socialistic" and 
"socialism" ought to mean are "societistic" and "socie- 
tism." 



94 An Outline of Old Testament [§21 

figure of an adulterous wife. Ezekiel's extensive use 
of parable reminds one of Jesus, but how different 
are the simple literary gems Jesus creates! 

The blood of children offered to idols stirs Ezekiel's 
soul much more than that shed in rapine. He 
emphasizes, too, the violations of the Sabbath and 
ritual and the pollution of the sanctuary; but he 
does not overlook socio-moral transgressions. Com- 
pare 22:27. 

Chapters 21 and 22 deal more with contemporary 
conditions. In 22:23-31 Ezekiel does not hesitate 
to arraign prophet, priest, and prince. True to the 
spirit of Jeremiah and the other prophets, and of 
Jesus later, he is no craven. 

An interesting touch of ancient local color is the 
Babylonian's divination and his rapid conquest 
first of Jerusalem and then of Ammon (21:18-32). 

Consider these chapters in the light of the individ- 
ualism of chapter 18. The prophet here sees right- 
eous and wicked cut off together (21:3, 4). His 
concern in chapter 18 is with the children's suffering 
for the father's guilt. The broad statement of 14:14 
is explained by 14:20: Noah's sons and their wives 
were saved with righteous Noah. Compare Job 1 
and 8:4-7. Ezekiel feels strangely the unity of the 
Jewish community: his threat is not "I will scatter 
the people," but (22:15) "I will scatter thee (that 
is, the nation)." And his insistence upon the whole 
evil history of Israel, a foundling, a son of an Amorite 
father and a Canaanite mother, in chapters 16, 20, 
and 23, indicates, as previously intimated, that he 
was not dead to the question of racial solidarity 



ft3] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 95 

and "the taint in the blood" — the "old Adam" in 
Paul's phrase. 

(11) The "Pentecost of Calamity," personal and 
national. Like Hosea, and in keeping with prophetic 
method, Ezekiel makes his most intimate personal 
sorrow a text and "sign" of his message. 

Read Ezekiel 24. 

§ 22. Ezekiel's Indictment of the Nations. 

Ezekiel 25 to 32. 

Ifl. Ezekiel's prophecies against the nations are 
not merely a collection of oracles, like a modern book 
of sermons that have no essential unity of theme; 
they form an orderly part of his book, which presents 
first the judgment on Judah, then on the nations, 
and then the restoration. The judgment on the 
nations is sometimes regarded as a necessary fore- 
runner of the restoration, and therefore the first 
section of the second division rather than, as in the 
present treatment, as the second of the three grand 
divisions of the book. Compare Amos 1 and 2, where 
judgment on the nations is merely an introduction 
to the coming judgment upon Israel. 

If 2. What is the especial sin of Ammon and Moab, 
and what that of Edom and Philistia, for which 
these four nations shall be punished? and what is 
their punishment? 

Read Ezekiel 25. 

What are the sins of the neighboring nations in 
Amos 1? Is there any difference in the point of 
view? 

If3. One of the finest of the Old Testament oracles 
against foreign peoples is Ezekiel's oracle on Tyre. 



96 An Outline of Old Testament [§23 

Note how the imagery of the sea and of the business 
of fishing and of commerce is turned upon this great 
trading, fishing seaport (26:3-5, 14 and 19). 

Very effectively does the lament recounting her 
greatness close with the lament of her friends (27:32) 
and the gloating of rival merchants (27:36). The 
oracle then turns to the prince of Tyre, whose sin is 
what (28:2-6)? Now, getting the total beauty and 
power of the oracle, 

Read Ezekiel 26:1 to 28:19. 

T 4. A short companion oracle on Tyre's sister 
city, Sidon. 

Read Ezekiel 28:20-26. 

f 5. Oracles on Egypt. 

Read Ezekiel 29:1 to 32:16. 

What are the especial sins of Egypt (29:6 and 9)? 
Who shall conquer her? What is her punishment? 
How long shall her "captivity" last? 

If6. The general judgment upon the nations. 

Read Ezekiel 32:17-32. 

One might compare this "Thanatopsis" (or 
"thoughts on death") of the nations with William 
Cullen Bryant's "Thanatopsis" of individuals. 

Increasingly in Hebrew history the religious mind 
turns away from intermediate judgments to a final 
day of Jehovah when all the nations shall be judged 
and history shall be turned "right side up" and made 
to reflect God's ideal. Keep this thought in mind 
for further consideration. 
§ 23. The New Israel To Be. 

Ezekiel 33 to 48. 

Tfl. Says Lofthouse: 



J[ 3] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 97 

The actual reception of the news of the fall of Jeru- 
salem (33: 21) marks the opening of a new activity on 
the part of Ezekiel. His mouth is "opened." In the 
months of suspense, while the city was being besieged, 
he has become assured of the ultimate fate of the heathen; 
and when the news arrives, although the prophecy of 
chapter 32 has not yet been delivered, he is aware of his 
new mission — to make ready his countrymen for that new 
era of restoration and unsoiled service for which all ths 
disasters inside and outside Israel have only been a prepa- 
ration. The chapters in which he discharges this duty 
contain his chief contribution to Old Testament theology, 
and indeed form the closest link between that and the 
theology of the New Testament itself. After six years 
of opposition to all the aspirations of his people, he finds 
himself now in a position of authority which can only 
have been equaled by that of Isaiah after the great de- 
liverance of 701 B.C. Sublimely undisturbed as he is by 
the fact that the Jews were still languishing in exile, the 
success of his first great prophecy turns his mind to the 
working out of the details of the second. The political 
disaster has only served to make possible a religious tri- 
umph. But the prophet's tone, though different, is still 
in one important respect the same. His analysis of Is- 
rael's state is far too deep to allow him to forget that the 
real foe is neither Babylon nor the rule of Zedekiah, but 
sin.* 

1f2. The prophet's classic restatement of his com- 
mission and of his message of repentance and hope. 

Read Ezekiel 33. 

The passage needs meditation rather than com- 
ment. Compare verses 21 and 22 with 3:27. 

If 3. The false shepherds and the divine assump- 
tion of the office of shepherd. 

Read Ezekiel 34:1-166. 

*Work previously cited, pages 249 and 250. 

7 



9S An Outline of Old Testament [§23 

If 4. The oppressing "fat and strong," and the 
new shepherd and the covenant of peace. 

Read Ezekiel 34:16c-31. 

Verse 16 suggests a turning point. Not only the 
shepherds, but the greedy rich are attacked. This 
reminds one of the earlier prophets, Amos, Micah, 
and Isaiah. 

Who is the new shepherd? 

The covenant of peace reflects the ancient struggle 
against wild beasts and the general dependence on 
crops. Note the expressions "sleep in the woods" 
and "showers of blessings." 

1J5. The prophet turns from the false shepherds 
and the oppressing strong and rich within Judah to 
the neighboring nation whose enmity and exultation 
at her sister's fall constituted an ever-sore spot in 
Hebrew thinking (compare Amos 1 : 116) ; he answers 
their mocking laugh with a picture of Israel's re- 
habilitation and prosperity. 

Read Ezekiel 35 and 36. 

Why did Israel's sorrows come upon her? The 
new era will, therefore, mean the banishment of 
idols and of sin. Compare 36:37 with 14:1,2 and 
20:1-3. 

Jehovah acts for his holy name's sake (36:22 and 
32), not because Israel is more deserving than other 
peoples, though he had given them statutes "which 
if a man, do he shall live in them" (20: 11). Jehovah 
will cleanse them and give them a new heart; he will 
put his spirit in them and cause them to walk in his 
statutes (36:25-28). Compare §36, 1J3(2) and 
Paul's doctrine of regeneration and of salvation, not 



If 8] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 99 

through law, but through God's free grace. Con- 
sider also the kinship of Paul's and Ezekiel's view 
of the spirit (compare 1 Cor. 12 to 14 and Gal. 
5:22, 23 with Ezek.36:27) as over against the view 
taken by Peter following Joel (Acts 2:14-18). The 
depth and breadth of Paul's debt to Jeremiah and 
Ezekiel has not been generally appreciated. Com- 
pare also Jesus's use of Isaiah 61:1,2 in Luke 4: 
16-21. 

If 6. The vision of the dry bones and its message 
of hope for the revivification of the united Israel and 
Judah. 

Read Ezekiel 37. 

Ezekiel's chief interest appears in verses 246, 266, 
and 27 — "my statutes" and "my sanctuary." 

If 7. The final conflict and the vindication of Je- 
hovah. Taking 39:23 as the key-text and recalling 
the closing portion of §22, If 6, 

Read Ezekiel 38 and 39. 

If 8. The rehabilitated temple, the center of the 
restored Israel, and the return of Jehovah thereto. 
Noting the prophet's reassumption of the vision 
style, 

Read Ezekiel 40:1 to 43:17. 

It is not unusual in some quarters to regard this 
interest in the temple as a mark of the decline of 
prophecy; and, indeed, the building of a house is 
not as high a task as the building of spiritual con- 
ceptions of God and life and history. A nobler 
vision than this of Ezekiel is that of the holy city 
that needs no temple (Rev. 21). Yet religion in 
this world of men needs "a local habitation and a 



100 An Outline of Old Testament [§24 

name," and the world's temple builders have con- 
tributed no little to spiritual religion and to life. 
Temples furnish rallying points for religious life, and 
preach silent sermons in stone that sometimes out- 
last sermons of prophetic word. What sermon since 
Jesus and Paul, for example, has brought the sense 
of God into more lives than the Cathedral of Cologne? 
What puts more spirit and progress into local Church 
life and even into a whole city than a creditable 
house for divine worship? What part did the temple 
of Solomon and the post-exilic temple have in the 
religious life of Judah? These are large questions: 
consider them in all their phases as far as you are 
able at this time and then store thern away as a 
question for later thought. 

1(9. The ordinances of the altar and the temple. 

Read Ezekiel 43:18 to 46:24. 

The priestly element of the Old Testament will 
be treated later in these studies, though not then 
in great detail. Further consideration need not be 
given to these ordinances here. 

If 10. The temple and the land. 

Read Ezekiel 47 and 48. 

§ 24. Summary and Review. 

Ifl. Ezekiel marks, according to many scholars, 
the burial of prophecy in the priest; but may he not 
also be considered the Jerusalem priest whom the pro- 
phetic spirit conquers and through whom that spirit 
(which otherwise might have been lost, as it was in 
northern Israel) becomes, if, indeed, in modified form > 
a permanent possession of the Jewish folk? Jere- 



fl2] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 101 

miah, it is true, represents a higher phenomenon, a 
priest who became a prophet; and after Ezekiel, 
priestly and scribal tendencies overlay the moral and 
spiritual power of prophecy; but within the priestly 
and scribal sphere the prophetic spirit was preserved 
by such as Ezekiel to rise to loftier mountain heights 
than ever in John the Baptist, Jesus, and Paul. 
Compare §10, f 4 (1). 

1|2. The books of Isaiah and Jeremiah being ex- 
tended collections of Isaianic and Jeremianic oracles, 
without more unity of theme than most modern 
books of sermons, a reading of either of them at a 
sitting is not so necessary a task. As the book of 
Ezekiel is not a mere collection of his sermons, but 
a real book, now 

Read the book of Ezekiel continuously at one or 
two sittings, striving to get its total message. 



CHAPTER VII 

HAGGAI, ZECHARIAH, AND MALACHI 
§ 25. Haggai and the Rebuilding of the Temple. 

The book of Haggai. 

Ifl. The interest in the temple and the priestly 
that is so pervasive in Ezekiel persists in post- 
exilic prophecy. The prophets studied in this chap- 
ter are often discounted on account of this fact. 
This discounting, however, demands analysis. If 
it means that Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi never 
rose to such heights as did Isaiah and Jeremiah, and 
do not stand for an original revolutionary prophetic 
idea, then the point is well taken; but one must not 
undervalue stars of the second magnitude. The 
value of a star in the human firmament is not in its 
ability to outshine another star, but in its ability to 
light the pathway. These men applied the prophetic 
message and spirit to the matters in hand. When the 
temple was standing or when the people were very 
ardent worshipers at well-established shrines, one 
might well attack the formal religious rounds of 
ceremony; but when the people had no church home, 
just as it was a great feat for Ezekiel to dream the 
temple back to life, so it was a worthy task for Haggai 
and Zechariah to champion its rebuilding and for 
Malachi to rebuke laxness in habits of religious 
worship and devotion. 
(102) 



fl4] Prophecy, Wisdom , and Worship 103 

H 2. What was Haggai's explanation of the poverty 
of the restored postexilic Jewish community and 
what was his plea and argument? 

Read Haggai 1:1-11. 

Compare Amos 4:6-12. 

H 3. What was the result of his plea? 

Read Haggai 1:12-15. 

If 4. The popular disappointment and the prophecy 
©f the coming glory. 

(1) Compare the dates of 1:1, 2:1, 2:10, and 
2:20. 

(2) Two obstacles are met: (a) The foundations 
of the new temple seem paltry to those who remember 
the old — perhaps also to some who recall the mag- 
nificent temples of Babylon; and (6) the better 
conditions are not immediately forthcoming after 
the work of rebuilding the temple is begun. 

For Haggai's answer to the first, 

Read Haggai 2:8 and 9. 

As regards the second, he preaches the doctrine 
that "it is disease, not health, that is contagious," 
arguing that ceremonial pollution, not holiness, 
spreads; and he assures the people that "from this 
day forward" the blessing will come. 

Read verse 19c. 

(3) More significant, however, is the larger hope 
that Jehovah is going to set history aright and 
establish the social order that he has had in mind 
all along. Noting in particular verses 6, 7 and 
21,22, 

Read Haggai 2:1-23. 

Who was Zerubbabel and what was his relation 



101 An Outline of Old Testament [§26 

to the movement? See a commentary or Bible 
dictionary on Zerubbabel if time and opportunity 
allow. 

§ 26. Zechariah. 

Tfl. Zechariah's interpretation of the course of 
history as a vindication of the word spoken by Je- 
hovah through former prophets. 

Read Zechariah 1:1-6. 

1f2. The visions. 

Zechariah 1:7 to 6:15. 

(1) The first vision and the great question brought 
forward by the continued calamities befalling Je- 
hovah's people — "How long?" Noting especially 
verse 12, 

Read Zechariah 1:7-17. 

What is the answer to the question? and what 
in your own words is the doctrine of verse 15? 

(2) The second vision and the coming venge- 
ance. 

Read Zechariah 1:18-21. 

(3) The third vision and the coming glory. 
Read Zechariah 2. 

Compare for the form of the vision Amos 7: 7 and 
8. Compare Zechariah 2 : 9 with Haggai's prophecies. 
In the vision an angel of great authority rebukes the 
smallness of the hopes of the one who would measure 
the future Jerusalem by the dimensions of the old : 
the new city will overflow the walls. As in the 
Spartan story her citizens were the walls of Sparta, 
so what jis to be the wall of Jerusalem (verse 5)? 
Compare Isaiah 26:1. 

Note particularly the missionary outlook of verse 



ff2] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 105 

11. More and more the broader spirits realize that 
Israel's religion is for the world. 

(4) The fourth vision, the cleansed nation and the 
purged iniquity. 

Read Zechariah 3. 

Keep this chapter in mind as you pass to the 
next. 

(5) The fifth vision and the new leader. Com- 
paring Haggai and noting especially verses 7-9, 

Read Zechariah 4. 

Compare verses 6 and 7 with Jesus's word on the 
faith that removes mountains. Increasingly the de- 
mand of the Hebrew religion is for the removal of 
guilt and sin, and for faith. The extreme devotion 
to the law itself is an expression of the faith that not 
by power and might but by doing God's will, and 
leaving the rest to him, is the triumph of righteous- 
ness and of God's people to come. It was Paul's 
great contribution that he built the Christian 
philosophy of religion upon a faith and a justifica- 
tion that did away with the legalism of the law, but 
in so doing Paul was interpreting the deeper spirit 
of the postexilic religion. 

(6) The sixth vision and the winnowing out of 
wicked individuals. 

Read Zechariah 5:1-4. 

• "The gist of the teaching of the vision, therefore/' 
says Mitchell, concluding his comment on the pas- 
sage, "is that Yahweh will not again punish the Jews 
as a people by any such universal calamity as the 
exile, but will henceforth inflict upon each individual 
sinner the penalty for his personal offenses. In 



106 An Outline of Old Testament [§26 

other words, it is an announcement, so far as the 
Jews are concerned, of an era of individualism."* 
Compare §21, If 5 (8). 

(7) The seventh vision and the exile of the prin- 
ciple of wickedness. 

Read Zechariah 5:5-11. 

(8) The eighth vision and the permanent pro- 
tection of the restored community. 

Read Zechariah 6. 

The chief enemies of the Israelites were the Empire 
of Egypt to the south and the Empires of Babylonia 
and Assyria to the northward. Hence the chief 
protection is to be in these directions. The last 
chariot is for the other enemies. Observe the re- 
appearance of the missionary note and of the idea 
of the Davidic branch. 

1f3. The inquiry, now that the temple is no longer 
in ruins, concerning fasting: what is the prophetic 
answer? 

Read Zechariah 7 and 8. 

Zechariah thinks that the established fast was 
not in the first place "unto Jehovah": it was, the 
prophet seems to maintain, sorrow over calamity 
rather than regret for sin; but in any case he shows 
a more excellent way. Note 7:8-12 and 8:14-17. 
Zechariah reasserts the strong moral emphasis of 
Amos, and in this respect seems, as far as the record 
goes, much broader and deeper than Haggai. Com- 



*The International Critical Commentary, "Haggai and 
Zechariah, " pages 170 and 171. 



fl4] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 107 

pare the answer of Jesus to the Pharisees concerning 
fasting (Mark 2:18-22). 

I Two other points are especially significant in the 
passage under surveillance: (a) The missionary note 
of 8:22, 23; and (6) the second is best expressed 
perhaps in the picture of the situation given by 
George Adam Smith: 

For ourselves the chief profit of these beautiful oracles 
is their lesson that the remedy for the sordid tempers and 
cruel hatreds, engendered by the fierce struggle for ex- 
istence, is found in civic and religious hopes, in a noble 
ideal for the national life, and in the assurance that 
God's love is at the back of all, with nothing impossible 
to it. Amid these glories, however, the heart will proba- 
bly thank Zechariah most for his immortal picture of the 
streets of the new Jerusalem: old men and wom-m sit- 
ting in the sun, boys said girls playing in all the open 
places. The motive of it, as we have seen, was found in 
the circumstances of his own day. Like many another 
emigration, for religion's sake, from the heart of civ- 
ilization to a barren coast, the poor colony of Jerusalem 
consisted chiefly of men, young and in middle life. The 
barren years gave no encouragement to marriage. The 
constant warfare with neighboring tribes allowed few to 
reach gray hairs. It was a rough and hard society, un- 
blessed by the two great benedictions of life, childhood 
and old age. But this should all be changed, and Jerusa- 
lem filled with placid old men and women and with joy- 
ous boys and girls.* 

f 4. The coming kingdom. 

Read Zechariah 9:1 to 11:3. 

As frequently in the prophets, the passage in- 

*The Expositor's Bible, "The Twelve Prophets," Vol. 
II., pages 324 and 325. 



108 An Outline of Old Testament [§26 

eludes oracles of punishment upon foreign nations; 
but two points are of paramount importance: (a) 
The remnant for Jehovah to be taken from these 
foreign nations, and (b) the picture of a king riding, 
not upon a war horse, but making his triumphal 
entry upon the beast of peaceful toil, the ass (9:7-10; 
compare Matt. 21:1-11). 

If 5. The allegory of the good and the bad shepherd. 

Read Zechariah 11:4-17; and for the future of the 
bad shepherd 

Read 13:7-9, which some scholars think has been 
dislocated in the manuscripts from its proper place 
after 11:17. 

An interesting interpretation of this passage also 
is given by George Adam Smith: 

The spiritual principles which underlie this allegory are 
obvious. God's own sheep, persecuted and helpless 
though they be, are yet obstinate, and their obstinacy not 
only renders God's good will to them futile, but causes 
the death of the one man who could have done them good. 
The guilty sacrifice the innocent, but in this execute 
their own doom. That is a summary of the history of 
Israel.* 

If 6. More and more the mind of later prophetism 
turns to the final contest with evil and the final 
wind-up of history, when the scores of earth shall 
be made even and when the perfect rule of Jehovah 
shall ensue. The hopelessness of complete obedience 
to law demands a fountain for sin and uncleanness 
(13:1); the foreigner is included (14:16); Jehovah 
shall be king over all the earth (14:9); and there 

♦Book cited, page 475. 



Ifl] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 109 

shall be no more curse (14:11). The horse is not 
merely displaced by the ass (as in 9:9), but is himself 
transformed from an instrument of war into a pro- 
claimer of the holiness of Jehovah (14:20). With 
these points in mind, 
Read Zechariah 12 to 14. 

§27. Malachi. 

Tfl. So long as the Israelites looked upon Jehovah 
as a purely national God, his love and constant pro- 
tection to the very limit of his power was assured. 
The shortcoming of this attitude was that it made 
no higher moral demands. It was the merit of Amos 
and his successors that Israel was made to see how 
unworthy a notion of God such a conception was. 
Jehovah, the prophets taught, could not be on Israel's 
side right or wrong. He was against the cruelty 
and oppression of the neighboring nations: he must 
likewise stand against cruelty and oppression within 
Israel. 

But now the situation has changed. The thinking 
people of Israel have learned to think of Jehovah, 
not as a mere national God, but as the world's God. 
Then there arises the new question, "Does Jehovah 
care for Israel?" 

Read Malachi 1:1-5. 

Malachi does not go back to Jehovah's ancient 
deliverances of his people, whose very ancientness 
might raise new questions; he cites a current in- 
stance of the utter destruction of a neighboring peo- 
ple in contrast with the chastening of Israel. This 
doctrine of the destruction of others as over against 



110 An Outline of Old Testament [§27 

the chastening of the chosen people becomes a 
settled doctrine of later Jewish writers (Wisd. of 
Sol. 16 : 5, 18 : 20, 19:1; and 2 Mace. 6:12). Compare 
Romans 9 to 11 — the destruction of Israel is only 
seeming and temporary. Compare in particular 
Malachi's comparison of Jacob and Esau with Paul's 
in Romans 9:10-13. 

1f 2. What other aspects of current doubt are found 
later in the book? 

Read Malachi 2 : 17, 3 : 13-15. Compare Zechariah 
1:12. 

T[3. The faithless priesthood and the polluted 
ritual. 

Read Malachi 1:6 to 2:9. 

There has been much variation of opinion in the 
interpretation of Malachi 1:11. Pusey says: "The 
form of words does not express whether this declara- 
tion relates to the present or the future. It is a 
vivid present, such as is often used to describe the 
future. But the things spoken of show it to be the 
future."* Note the words "shall be" in the English 
version are in italics, indicating that they are supplied 
by the translators in order to make the translation 
explicit and to give the translator's interpretation 
of the Hebrew. Some interpreters think the verse 
refers to the way Persian governors, for instance, 
had shown respect for Jehovah; or to heathen sacri- 
fices, which are regarded as blundering efforts to 
reach out after the true God. Others think it means 
to compare the devotion of the Hebrews of the dis- 

♦"Minor Prophets," Vol. II, page 471. 



fl5] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 111 

persion with the polluted offerings of those having 
the advantage of the Jerusalem Temple. 

Note that in 2:7 the priest, rather than the proph- 
et, is the current regular spokesman of Jehovah in 
this period of the decline of prophecy. 

<j[ 4. The thwarting of God's main purpose in his- 
tory by foreign marriages. 

Read Malachi 2:10-16. 

Jehovah's purpose in history is expressed in the 
middle of verse 15, "he sought a godly seed." This 
may not be an exactly correct reading of the original 
text, but it seems to express the basis of the prophet's 
thought in the passage. The Jews had gone so far 
in some cases, it seems, as to divorce their Jewish 
wives in favor of these foreign alliances. The proph- 
et speaks against divorce itself, but the main thought 
seems to be that Jehovah wants to develop a pure, 
elect people, and that foreign alliances would intro- 
duce a heathen element into Israel's religion. "Je- 
hovah will cut off the progeny of such a one," is 
the prophet's threat. 

1[5. The coming Age. 

Read Malachi 3 and 4. 

Note the prediction of a forerunner in 3:1, 4:5, 6. 
Compare Mark 1:2, 9:12, 13. The day of Jeho- 
vah (3:2, 4:1) is not merely as it was in the popular 
thought of the time of Amos, a day when Jehovah 
takes up an active championship of Israel, but is a 
day of ethical judgment. Compare Amos 5:18 and 
Luke 3:7-9 and 16, 17. Malachi is interested in 
the ritual (3:4), but in the moral as well (3:5, 6). 
There is also a great promise: what (4:2, 3) is it? 



112 An Outline of the Old Testament [§27 

To what does Haggai attribute the contemporary- 
poverty and want (§25, 1f2)? What is Malachi's 
challenge (3 : 10-12) ? Like Ezekiel, he arraigns pres- 
ent (3:8) and past (3:7). 

In 4:4-6 Moses represents the law and the past; 
Elijah, prophecy and the future. 

1f6. Read at one or two sittings the three books 
studied in this chapter, getting both the similarity 
of tone in them all and the distinctive viewpoint 
and message of each. 



CHAPTER VIII 

TEE PROPEETS OF TEE OVERTEROW OF EEATEEN 

NATIONS AND TEE VINDICATION 

OF ISRAEL 

§ 28. Obadiah and Nahum. 

Tfl. It must be confessed that the prophets in- 
cluded in the present chapter — Obadiah, Nahum, 
Zephaniah, Joel, and Habakkuk— form in some re- 
spects a miscellaneous group and that a general 
topic has been sought to fit those, exclusive of Jonah 
and Daniel, not already studied. Micah was treated 
before Isaiah partly because he, a peasant with the 
peasant-prophet's viewpoint, naturally followed in 
the wake of Amos and Hosea, while Isaiah, as a 
city man and a temple prophet, represented a new 
movement; partly because it is well to consider 
Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel together. Haggai, 
Zechariah, and Malachi represent the continuation 
of that alliance of prophecy and the temple begun 
in Isaiah and reaching a culmination in Ezekiel. 
Jeremiah in many ways belongs rather to the peas- 
ant group; but his independent influence over Eze- 
kiel places him in this group. The prophets to be 
examined in the present chapter are rather left over 
from this scheme, partly because they do not fit into 
the main lines of development, partly also because 
there is so much difference of opinion about the dates 
of the activity of some of them. 

8 (113) 



114 An Outline of Old Testament [§28 

Yet it is thought that the title of the chapter 
correctly represents the prophets as a group. Ar- 
raignments of the nations and prophecies of partic- 
ular punishments and of a general judgment are 
included in the other books; and in some, especially 
Ezekiel and Zechariah, an ultimate vindication of 
Israel is a central interest; yet it may fairly be said 
that in none of them are these themes so all-absorbing 
as in the prophets now under review. 

If 2. There seems to have been an ancient oracle 
against Edom quoted in both Obadiah and Jeremiah. 

Read Obadiah 1-14 and Jeremiah 49:7-17. 

Compare the way the books of Isaiah and Micah 
similarly incorporate the oracle on world-peace (Isa. 
2: 2-4 and Mic. 4: 1-5). What parts of the two pas- 
sages read are common to Obadiah and Jeremiah? 
Note the remarkable description of the mountainous 
people, with their natural defenses and pride of sit- 
uation; also the strength of the figures in Obadiah 
5. Edom was the most age-long of Israel's foes, 
though closest of kin. Her cruelty seemed to many 
of the prophets more forgivable than her mockery 
at her sister Judah's fall (verses 11, 12). 

If 3. The interest of the book of Obadiah goes far 
beyond the destruction of Edom, however. Edom's 
fall is a type of a larger judgment. Noting partic- 
ularly the first and last clauses of the passage, 

Read Obadiah 15-21. 

'The kingdom shall be Jehovah's" — this is almost 
the fine phrase of Jesus, "The kingdom of God." 

If 4. Jehovah a~God of judgment and deliverance. 

Read Nahum 1. 



fl5] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 115 

The chapter is a piece of vivid description. Con- 
sider carefully the idea of God it sets forth. 

If 5. What Obadiah is to the age-long, neighbor- 
kinsman foe, Edom, Nahum is to the powerful empire 
of Assyria, the arch-destroyer and conqueror. Speak- 
ing of Nahum's literary style, Driver says: "Of all 
the prophets, he is the one who in dignity and force 
approaches most nearly to Isaiah."* Recalling 
Assyria's ruthless career of conquest, 

Read Nahum 2 and 3. 

(a) Pick out the strongest and tersest phrases in 
the passage. 

(6) Ashurbanipal says in his account of the capture 
of Thebes: 1 "That entire city, under the protection 
of Ashur and Ishtar, my hands captured — silver, 
gold, precious stones, the contents of his palace, all 
that there was: parti-colored raiment, cloth, horses, 
and people, male and female. Two tall obelisks . . . 
I removed from their place and took to Assyria. 
Heavy spoils without number I carried off from 
Thebes."** 

Ashurbanipal, like other kings of the East, felt 
his conquests to be under the leadership of his gods. 
Consider the superiority of Nahum's conception of 
a God who rules the world working through the 



*New Century Bible, "Minor Prophets," Vol. II., page 
12. 

Ashurbanipal was one of Assyria's greatest kings; 
Thebes was the great city of upper Egypt, also called No- 
amon (Nahum 3:8). 

**Quoted by J. M. P. Smith in the International Crit- 
ical Commentary, page 344. 



116 An Outline of Old Testament [§29 

forces of history to accomplish his ends of justice 
and judgment. 

(c) The fortresses shall be like fig trees and the 
defenders like first ripe figs; the people in the city, 
when their fortresses have fallen, are — here the proph- 
et changes the figure — not real warriors, but "wom- 
en" (verses 12, 136).* This last is said with all the 
contempt of an ancient man for womankind. 

(d) Nahum is no mere narrow nationalist, as 
some scholars would make out. Says George Adam 
Smith: "It is not in Judah's name he exults, but in 
that of all the people of Western Asia. . . . Nahum 
gives voice to no national passions, but to the out- 
raged conscience of mankind. "** Compare If 3, above. 

§ 29. Zephaniah and Joel. 

Tfl. The general judgment and the call to repent- 
ance and steadfastness. 

Read Zephaniah 1:1 to 2:3. 

Note three points: 

(a) The description of the terrors of the day of 
Jehovah (1:2, 3 and 14-18). 

(6) The classes upbraided by the prophet: The 
Baal-worshipers ; a the devotees of foreign worships; 

*For a variant interpretation of this passage see the 
International Critical Commentary, page 34 6. 

**Expositor's Bible, "The Twelve Prophets," Vol. II., 
page 103. 

aBaal here seems to be not a foreign god, but the old 
local Baals. The earlier prophets made war on the for- 
eign Baals brought in by the wives of Solomon and Ahab. 
The battle is begun by Ahijah, who seems to place this 
beside the heavy taxation in stirring up revolt against 



1f3] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 117 

the renegades from Jehovah, probably including or 
identical with the class just mentioned; the royal 
house; the traders (note the marginal reading for 
"The people of Canaan"); and those who feel that 
Jehovah does not care or is powerless to act effective- 
ly. These seem all included in the condemnation 
of verse 17: "They have sinned against Jehovah." 

(c) Zephaniah 2:1, 2, which seems, according to 
the present text, to urge the nation at large to repent; 
and verse 3, which seems to exhort the faithful ones 
to continue to seek Jehovah. 

1[2. The judgment on the nations. What three 
neighbor nations and what two more distant ones 
are indicted by the prophet? 

Read Zephaniah 2:4-15. 

Ethiopia is named possibly for Egypt in view of 
the long rule of Egypt by an Ethiopian dynasty. 

Compare the section on Moab and Ammon with 
the first half of Obadiah; and that on Assyria with 
Nahum (especially Nahum 3:19 with Zeph. 2:15). 

1[3. Jerusalem and the great day. 

Read Zephaniah 3. 

Verses 1-7 upbraid the wicked (what four classes 
are named?); and verses 8-20 turn attention to the 



Solomon; and after Elijah's and Elisha's onslaughts, the 
victory is finally won under Jehu. Hosea leads a cru- 
sade against the local Baals. This so far succeeds that 
only a remnant of this worship (Zeph. 1:4) is left in 
Zephaniah's day, but there has been a prodigious revival 
of the foreign worship through the influence of King 
Manasseh. This seems the most probable reconstruction 
of the history. 



118 An Outline of Old Testament [§29 

true Israel. Note that Zephaniah 2:11 and 3:9-12 
bring heathen into the Israel of God. 

IT 4. The foretaste of judgment, and the coming 
day. 

Read Joel 1:1 to 2:11. 

Joel reflects the same message as Zephaniah. 
Jehovah will soon come in judgment upon the nation 
or the nations. In 2 : 2 he quotes Zephaniah or Zeph- 
aniah quotes him in the corresponding passage (1: 
15), or else both take up a current prophetic phrase. 

It is beyond the scope of the present study to 
discuss or take sides upon mooted questions of date. 
Suffice it to say that scholars put Joel very early or 
quite late: it is usually agreed that an intermediate 
date will not fit him. His noteworthy descriptive 
powers remind one of Nahum. 

Note the vivid description of the locusts as a 
nation in 1:6, 7 and as an army in 2:4-11;* also the 
pitiful wail of the cattle and wild beasts in 1 : 18-20. 

All this, however, is only an earnest of the real 
day of Jehovah (1:15 and 2:1, 2). 

1f5. The prophet calls the nation to a genuine 
heart-repentance. 

Read Joel 2:12-17. 

If 6. The reprieve and the blessing for the repent- 
ant. 

Read Joel 2:18-29. 

*For details see any good commentary — Pusey, George 
Adam Smith, the International Critical Commentary, the 
New Century Bible, etc. There are numerous points 
worthy of mention, but they would extend beyond the 
limits of the present study. 



f[l] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 119 

There will be (a) no more invasions of locusts 
and even a restoration of the years the locusts have 
eaten, so that the nation will no more be "a re- 
proach;" and (6), more important than all, an out- 
pouring of the spirit, not merely upon a few prophetic 
souls, but upon all the people. Contrast verses 28 
and 29 with Amos 8:11. What use is made of Joel 
2:28, 29 in the New Testament? Meditate on this 
Old Testament passage and the New Testament 
application and fulfillment. Compare also Joel's 
religious democracy with Paul's doctrine that in 
Christ there is neither male nor female, bond nor 
free. The two great barriers of sex and slavery are 
broken down in both ideals. 

If 7. The final day of judgment. 

Read Joel 2:30 to 3:21. 

What foreign nations are designated for destruc- 
tion (3:4 and 19)? Which ones are so designated 
in Zephaniah? Why does one prophet single out 
some nations and other prophets select other na- 
tions? 

Note the play upon Isaiah 2:4 (Mic. 4:3) in Joel 
3: 10 — or vice versa, if Joel be the older. 

If 8. Now read at a sitting the books of Obadiah, 
Nahum, Zephaniah, and Joel, comparing thought- 
fully their characteristics and varying emphases on 
their common message of judgment. 

§ 30. Habakkuk. 

f 1. The book of Habakkuk is one of the most 
difficult of interpretation in the whole Old Testa- 
ment. For the purposes of the present study it will 



120 An Outline of Old Testament [§30 

be divided into three sections: (a) Habakkuk's state- 
ment of the central problem of Hebrew thought and 
his solution, (6) the six woes, (c) the Psalm on the 
God of the great past deliverance who can be trusted 
for the future. 

Moralizing the popular religion (which conceived 
of Jehovah as the national God, sure to defend his 
people from every invader, unless angry with them, 
perchance, for some ritual reason),* the earlier proph- 
ets threatened punishment upon Israel from Jehovah 
for her sins of oppression and injustice. Where 
punishment seemed administered through natural 
causes — as, for example, the locust plague of Joel — 
there was no ulterior question; but where another 
nation was the instrument of Jehovah's punishment 
a further moral question did arise — namely, "Is that 
nation better than Israel?" This was the problem 
of Isaiah 10:5-15. Compare the apocryphal book 
of 2 Esdras, 3:31. 

Continued oppression by the heathen brought 
doubt to many Hebrew hearts. 

Read again Malachi 2: 17, 3: 13-15, and Zephaniah 
1:12. 

Sometimes devouter souls than those condemned 
by Malachi and Zephaniah had the question borne 
in upon their minds. Joel fears for what the heathen 
will think (2:17), and the problem intrudes itself 
into Zechariah's visions (1:12), where an angel asks 

♦Compare the Moabite stone, "Kemosh was angry with 
his land," quoted in the "Outline for the Study of Old 
Testament History," page 147, from Mercer's "Extra Bib- 
lical Sources for Hebrew and Jewish History," page 148. 



J[2] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 121 

Jehovah the great question of later Hebrew thought. 
With even more boldness Habakkuk weighs the 
same question and the larger problem it brings 
forward. George Adam Smith contrasts him with 
earlier prophets: "They address the nation Israel, 
on behalf of God: he rather speaks to God on behalf 
of Israel. . . . They attack the sins, he is the first 
to state the problems, of life. . . . This is the begin- 
ning of speculation in Israel."* Smith probably 
exaggerates the case under almost any reasonable 
theory of dates and authorship of prophetic writ- 
ings. 

Habakkuk inherits his problem and, like other 
prophets, states it only to furnish an answer, 
not to open the way to speculation, if the extant Old 
Testament text is to be followed. Still his temper 
is unusual, if not indeed new, and in a tone that 
prepares the way for later Judaism and for Chris- 
tianity he urges a policy of "watchful waiting" for 
the vindication of God. "I will stand upon my 
watch. . . . Though it tarry, I will wait for it," he 
says. It is the message of faith when one cannot 
see. 

1[2. Habakkuk's statement of the central problem 
of Hebrew thought and his solution. 

(a) The problem. 

Read Habakkuk 1:1-4, 13, and 17. 

(6) The Chaldeans the rod of Jehovah's wrath. 

Read Habakkuk 1:5-11. 

Perhaps — for scholars differ widely in their inter- 

♦Expositor's Bible, "The Twelve Prophets," Vol. II., 
pages 130 and 131. 



122 An Outline of Old Testament [§30 

pretations — Habakkuk 1:1 to 2:4 is a summary 
of the prophetic philosophy of history in a dialogue 
between Jehovah and the prophet or between Jeho- 
vah and prophecy taken in its entirety and personi- 
fied. Here is the ancient social wrong such as Amos 
condemned: why does not Jehovah punish it? The 
answer is, Jehovah is raising up the Chaldeans for 
that very purpose. 

(c) The larger ethical question arises, What is 
the moral character of the Chaldeans? Jehovah 
is righteous and pure, the prophet insists, and is 
working out his own purposes. Comparing again 
Isaiah 10:5-11, 

Read Habakkuk 1:12-17. 

Note particularly Habakkuk's picture of a nation 
worshiping its own power. 

(d) What can the prophets say to these things? 
Isaiah 10:12-15 seems to come from one who did 
not feel the heavy weight of sorrow and oppression 
and of Jehovah's apparent delays; Habakkuk's 
answer is a cry from the depth of a continuous 
experience of calamity. 

Read Habakkuk 2: 1-4. 

"Yea, wait thou for Jehovah." (Compare Ps. 
27: 14.) "The righteous shall live through the faith- 
fulness and steadfastness of God," says the prophet; 
or else "The righteous shall live in a steadfastness 
begotten of a faith that the vision is for the appointed 
time, and it hasteth toward the end, and shall not 
lie;" "Though it tarry, wait for it; because it will 
surely come, it will not delay," he feels. In either 
case the meaning is the same. The righteous Isra- 



fl3] Prophecy, Wisdom, and' Worship 1.23 

elite is to live in and by an attitude of trust in Jeho- 
vah/ 

T[ 3. The six woes. The first four woes refer chiefly 
to such plunder as the Chaldeans (like the Assyrians 
of Nahum's prophecy) were guilty of, though the 
word "wine" in verse 5 seems difficult in this con- 
nection. The fifth woe may refer to the way the 
Chaldeans rendered the nations drunken and stupe- 
fied rather than to the giving of drink to an individual 
neighbor: in which case the sixth woe might refer to 
the idolatrous customs of the Chaldeans. These 
last two or even the whole series of woes may be, 
however, not the continuation of the theme of Habak- 
kuk 1:1 to 2:4, but a separate oracle. Choosing 
the view which most appeals to you, 

Read Habakkuk 2:5-20. 

aThe interpretation here given is contrary to that of 
many modern scholars who contrast the Greek or Sep- 
tuagint translation tt'kttls (pistis), on which Paul depends, 
with the Hebrew J7^f£$f (emunah) — the former meaning 

t v: 

faith, the latter rather integrity, firmness. A careful ex- 
amination of the other places in the Old Testament where 
the word is used indicates that the word here will bear 
the sense of the second alternative offered in the discus- 
sion above, and no other sense is consistent with the 
context, unless one take the first alternative, which in- 
volves the same attitude on the part of righteous men. 
The Hebrew of 2:4a, which, like 2:5, is difficult of 
interpretation under any theory, is amended by some 
scholars. A simpler explanation is that which many 
think to have occurred not infrequently in ancient manu- 
scripts, a displacement of the text in the course of scribal 
copying. Certainly 2:4a fits in with the idea of haughti- 
ness in 2:5. 



121 An Outline of the Old Testament [§30 

If 4. The Psalm on the God of a great past de- 
liverance who can be trusted for the future. 

(a) The prophet prays for such a deliverance now 
in the midst of the dull round of years as had once 
come, presumably at the beginning of the national 
history. He then describes this deliverance. 

Read Habakkuk 3:1-15. 

(b) What should be the attitude of the righteous 
Israelite in a current crisis or in the dull monotony 
of uneventful years? 

Read Habakkuk 3:16-19. 

Here the Psalm reaches great spiritual heights. 
Either "Rejoice in Jehovah, whether outward pros- 
perity ever comes or not," it says, or else "Trust 
in him, rejoicing in the deliverance that is sure to 
come, as if it were already present." 

1(5. The Psalm, then, sounds the same note as 
the dialogue — the woes giving certain deductions 
called for in both. It is the cry heard in Nahum and 
Obadiah, in Zephaniah and Joel — give God time 
and the workings of history will vindicate his 
righteousness. With this in mind, 

Read Habakkuk at a sitting. 



CHAPTER IX 

JONAH 

§ 31. Jonah, the High Water Mark of the Old Testament's 
Wider Outlook. 

fll. The book of Jonah is universally recognized 
as unique among the prophets. The other books 
contain chiefly prophetic oracles and sermons, and 
where biographical material is inserted it aims to 
tell of the prophet's activity as a setting for his 
message. Sometimes a bit of prophetic activity is 
employed as an object lesson — as, for example, 
Isaiah's walking barefoot or Jeremiah's wearing of 
a yoke. Some scholars think that Hosea married 
at Jehovah's command a woman already debauched 
in order that he might illustrate his message to 
Israel, in which case Hosea 1 to 3 is of the same 
character as the two acts of Isaiah and Jeremiah 
just mentioned. The usual interpretation of Hosea, 
however, makes Hosea 1 to 3 the closest analogy in 
the prophets to the book of Jonah — an incident out 
of the prophet's life, not enacted to drive home a 
message, but told to illustrate a point quite foreign 
to the prophet's intention during the incident. 
Hosea' s wife proved untrue to him and becomes an 
abandoned harlot. "See in this woman, Israel, 
a picture of thyself," says Hosea 1 to 3. Jonah is a 
narrow, unmissionary soul whose selfishness and 
narrowness are laid bare in an account of his ministry 
to Nineveh. "See, Israel, a picture of thyself," says 

(125) 



126 An Outline of Old Testament [§31 

the book of Jonah, "in this bigoted, unloving, ungod- 
like prophet." Hosea 1 to 3, however, is simply an 
introduction to sermons of that prophet, enforcing 
for the most part the same message; the account of 
Jonah's ministry stands alone to utter its message 
without further reenforcement. 

Though unique amongst the prophetic books, 
Jonah is quite typical of the Old Testament nar- 
rative. All peoples love a good story for its own 
sake, but some races are of a more artistic bent and 
develop this love of a story for its own sake to a 
very high pitch. Other peoples, though not lacking 
in imagination, are nevertheless of so practical or 
serious-minded a disposition that they make their 
stories subservient to some practical or moral pur- 
pose. There is, for example, in the negro folklore a 
love of a good story, yet beneath that runs the pur- 
pose of showing how meek shrewdness overcomes 
brute strength. Sam Jones used to say, when people 
sometimes objected to his illustrations; "They 
illustrate, and that's all the use I have for an il- 
lustration/' So Abraham Lincoln told his stories, 
some very clever and interesting, nearly always 
in order to bring out a point he wished to make. 

Now the Greeks, though not unready at times to 
use their stories to enforce and apply moral truth, 
became the masters of the story for the story's sake, 
and indeed of all art for art's sake. And this is not 
an attitude to be lightly esteemed, for the beautiful, 
as well as the true and the good, is a constituent 
part of the supreme good of life. 

The Hebrews, though not passing by entirely the 



fll] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 127 

story told for its inherent interest and attractiveness, 
became masters of the story with a point, the story 
that goes beyond itself, the "illustration that illus- 
trates.' ' If Nathan had stopped with his great 
parable (2 Sam. 12:1-4), it would have been an 
immortal literary gem; but probably Nathan would 
never have thought out the story but for his purpose 
of saying at its close, "Thou art the man" — "This, 
David, is a picture of thyself." The same is true of 
the parables of Jesus as of the narratives of Ruth, 
of Hosea 1 to 3, and especially of the book of 
Jonah. a 

One other point of introduction must be mentioned 
here. There can be no doubt that Hosea himself 
tells the story of his unfortunate married life. Some 
scholars, as has been seen, think it relates what never 
really happened — that it is a parable; most recent 
scholars, however, think it a real chapter of Hosea's 
life. 

Now whether Jonah is an autobiography in which 
the prophet relates the experience of his conversion 
from a narrow nationalism to a missionary view- 
point, or a literal history of the prophet Jonah ben- 
Amittai 1 related by another prophet of truer insight 

a So unusually long an introduction is not intended 
merely for the understanding of the book of Jonah, but 
this is taken as the logical place for discussing an as- 
pect of Old Testament literature, without a knowledge of 
which one's view of the Old Testament is inadequate. 
Furthermore, it aims to throw light upon passages treated 
elsewhere, especially upon the books of Ruth and Esther. 
*For the meaning of the prefix "ben" see footnote on 
page 24, 



128 An Outline of Old Testament [§31 

(compare 1 Kings 13), or a parable — on this ques- 
tion there is wide disagreement. Dr. Edward Leigh 
Pell, after stating the various possibilities, says: 
"Fortunately it is not necessary to determine the 
character of the book in order to arrive at its mean- 
ing."* Others feel that to deny or doubt its his- 
toricity is to discount the Bible. It is certainly fair 
to say, however, that the chief message is the same, 
whatever view may be taken of its literary character 
and authorship. 

1f2. Jonah flees his divine commission. 

Read Jonah 1:1-3. 

Jonah ben-Amittai was probably the typical na- 
tionalistic prophet. Elijah was a champion of the 
religion of Jehovah, not of Israelitish nationalism; 
Elisha, while aiding the armies of Israel, was in- 
terested in the dynasty of Syria and healed a Syrian 
general ;* * Micaiah ben-Imlah boldly predicts Ahab's 
death and Israel's defeat by a foreign foe; Nathan 
earlier is a private chaplain who fearlessly rebukes 
his chief. 

Of Jonah ben-Amittai little very is known, but 
from 2 Kings 14:25 he seems an evangel of a larger 
Israelitish nationalism. To have been given the 
commission of Nahum, "Announce Nineveh's de- 
struction/' would have been a commission exactly 
to Jonah's fancy; but for Jehovah to say, "Announce 

*Senior Graded Series of Sunday School Lessons, M. E. 
Church, South, Student's Text Book, Second Year, Part 
II., page 174. 

**See "Outline for the Study of Old Testament His- 
tory," §66, fll2. 



f[6] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 129 

to Nineveh her forthcoming destruction," could have 
but one object — Jehovah desires Nineveh to repent 
and be saved (compare Jonah 4:2). Such an out- 
come the narrow nationalistic prophet could not 
tolerate; therefore he flees from the presence of 
Jehovah. But 

If 3. The God of the heavens and land and sea 
pursues. 

Read Jonah 1:4-10. 

It was characteristic of a narrow nationalistic 
prophet to harbor the primitive view that Jehovah 
dwelt in Israel only, and that once beyond the bound- 
ary of Jehovah's land he is beyond Jehovah's interest 
and control. Perhaps the feeling of relief in his 
successful flight "from the presence of Jehovah" was 
the reason for his calm deep sleep during the storm 
(verse 5). When he awakes Jehovah is a bigger God 
to him: by what title does he call Jehovah now 
(verse 9)? 

T[4. The kind humanity of the heathen sailors 
and their openness of heart toward the religion of 
Jehovah. 

Read Jonah 1:11-16. 

1f5. Jonah's miraculous deliverance and prayer 
of thanksgiving. 

Read Jonah 1:17 to 2:10. 

Compare Matthew 12:39, 40. 

If 6. The great popular preacher and the conver- 
sion of Nineveh. 

Read Jonah 3. 

Compare Luke 11:29-32, It is highly significant 
9 



130 An Outline of Old Testament [§3l 

that Jesus finds his own Old Testament prototype 
not in the powerful Elijah or the sturdy Amos, not 
in the courtly prophet-statesman Isaiah, not in the 
suffering Jeremiah, but in the popular preacher to 
the masses, Jonah. 

If 7. What was Jonah's attitude toward the success 
of his preaching? 

Read Jonah 4:1-5. 

1j 8. Through what means is the prophet taught 
God's point of view? and what in your own words 
is that point of view? 

Read Jonah 4:6-11. 

The narrow-minded Jonah fled because he deemed 
the heathen, and perhaps especially the cruel Nine- 
vites, unworthy of Jehovah's salvation, and because 
he suspected Jehovah's purpose to be their salvation. 
But he does not represent the deeper current of 
prophecy, which it is the purpose of this story of 
Jonah's ministry to set forth. The message of the 
book therefore is: God loves the heathen and de- 
sires their salvation, not their destruction. It is 
Israel's narrowmindedness and lack of the broader 
sympathy that deems otherwise. The book closes 
with Jehovah's question concerning the sparing of 
Nineveh and does not even assert Jonah's conver- 
sion to this point of view: this is left to the read- 
er's conjecture. 

Compare Amos 3:2 and 9:7; Isaiah 3:4 and 49:6, 
etc.; 2 Kings 5:1-19. See also the "Outline for the 
Study of Old Testament History," §66, If 12, and 
the references there given. 

Compare, too, Plato's prophecy that in the ideal 



ft 9] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 131 

state "Greeks should deal with barbarians as Greeks 
now deal with one another/'* 

One might note in passing that while most states- 
men in the allied world were, at best, Nahums 
heralding and hoping for a crushing blow to Germany, 
the American President, with his distinction between 
"the German people" and "the present rulers of 
Germany," sought the conversion of that nation 
and people to democracy and world-brotherhood, 
thus reflecting the great viewpoint of the book of 
Jonah. 

If 9. While Isaiah 53, Micah 6:1-8, Hosea 11:1-8, 
and Jeremiah 31:31-34 are pinnacles of Old Testa- 
ment religious insight, Isaiah 2:2-4 (Micah 4:1-4) 
and the book of Jonah are pinnacles of the Old 
Testament's world-idealism. Now, 

(a) In the light of your studies, and getting the 
power and sweep and insight of its messages, at one 
sitting, 

Read the book of Jonah. 

(6) Is it justly that Jonah has been called "the 
greatest missionary document ever penned"? Is the 
book any less a message on the larger international- 
ism preached by President Wilson than on the mis- 
sionary program of the Church? Following the new 
social movement which arose three-quarters of a 
century ago men turned to the Old Testament 
prophets to find them thoroughly alive to the social 
interest. Now, in the era of the new international- 
ism, one feels that from Amos to Daniel their inter- 

*Quoted by Griggs, "The Soul of Democracy,'" page 23. 



132 An Outline of the Old Testament. [§31 

ests were at least as largely centered in the socio- 
international as in the internal social movements. 
How eternally modern they are ! 

What is the book's doctrine of God as it appears 
in 4:11? Consider this as an extension to other 
people of Hosea 1:1-8. Compare Amos's doctrine 
of judgment equally upon all and John the Baptist's 
message with Jonah's and Jesus's doctrine of God's 
universal love. 



CHAPTER X 

DANIEL 

§ 32. Daniel and the New Divine World Order. 

Ifl. Among the prophetic books not less unique 
than Jonah, and even more obviously so, is the book 
of Daniel. Here, indeed, arises a new question, for 
while Daniel is included among the prophets in the 
English versions it is not counted with them in the 
Hebrew Bible. There are three separate strata of 
the Old Testament canon: the Law, the Prophets, 
and "Writings" or "Other Writings," sometimes 
designated "Psalms," presumably because the Psalms 
was the first book in the standard Jewish recension 
of this third collection or canon. 

Read Luke 24:44; compare the prologue to the 
apocryphal book Ecclesiasticus, or the Wisdom of 
Jesus ben-Sira. 

The Law, the earliest and the most sacred can- 
on, comprises the five Mosaic books (Genesis, 
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), 
usually called the Pentateuch. It is noteworthy 
that this collection contains as much history as it 
does law. Similarly the second canon, the Prophets, 
contains not only the four books of prophetic sermons 
and oracles, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the 
Twelve (considered as one book), but also the his- 
torical books from Joshua to 2 Kings. When one 
rids himself of the idea of the prophets as "foreteller" 
rather than "forth-teller," this seems not unnatural. 
These historical books are a history or a series of 

(133) 



134 An Outline of Old Testament [§32 

histories written, as indeed are most of the historical 
portions of the Pentateuch, from a prophetic point 
of view. They are called the "Earlier Prophets," 
the four books of prophetic sermons being denominat- 
ed the "Later Prophets." 

In the third canon, the Writings, or Hagiographa, 1 
are to be found not only the books which might be 
expected there, but also the priestly history or his- 
tories: Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah; Ruth and 
Lamentations; Daniel. 

This surprising classification of Daniel corresponds 
somewhat to the distinct character of the book. If 
one read Amos at a sitting and then turn to Daniel, 
he finds himself passing almost into a different world — 
much more so indeed than if he turn from Amos to 
Jonah. But if, having passed from Amos to Daniel, 
one turn again to Joel or Zephaniah, or Zechariah 
9-14, Isaiah 24-27 or Ezekiel 38 and 39, connecting 
links between the two are found. Another series of 
connecting links, more from the standpoint of literary 
form, is to be found by reading successively Amos 
9:1-4, Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 1; also Amos 7:7 and Zech- 
ariah 2:1-5, Amos 8:1-3 and Ezekiel 37. 

Compare Zechariah 1:7-11 and 6:1-8 with Rev- 
elation 6:1-8. 

If time allows, adopt the suggestions just given 
of reading, first, Amos and Daniel and then the me- 
diating passages, writing on a flyleaf of your text the 
impressions you get. 

ir rhis'word is merely a transliteration of the Greek 
words for "Holy Writings." 



f[4] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship i3o 

If 2. The book of Daniel divides itself very natu- 
rally into parts — a narrative introduction and a 
series of visions. Some visions appear, indeed, in 
the first part of the book; but they are introductory, 
and their significance is often missed by failing to 
observe their introductory character. The main 
purpose of the first six chapters is not to urge moral 
courage, the superiority of the law, and the like, 
but to show that the loyal Jew who speaks in Daniel 
7 to 12 is a trustworthy prophet, and that the God 
of Daniel will reward loyalty to himself and his lav/ 
and can and will perform what Daniel predicts. The 
lessons of courage and the superiority of the law are 
subordinate to the clarion call for faith in the God 
of Daniel. 

1[3. Daniel and his fellows, true to the regimen 
of the law, prove superior to the non-Hebrew can- 
didates to become wise men. 

Read Daniel 1. 

If 4. In a notable test case, Daniel alone of the 
wise men proves equal to the task of recalling J;he 
king's dream. 

Read Daniel 2:1-48. 

The king may have been toying with his wise men, 
knowing full well the dream; but having been so 
puzzled with their previous ambiguous and unveri- 
fiable interpretations of dreams (verse 9), he wishes 
to test out their real ability as soothsayers and 
diviners; or he may have really forgotten the dream, 
but have felt himself able to recognize it if some one 
should tell it to him. 

Daniel not only proves equal to the task, but 



13G An Outline of Old Testament [§32 

takes occasion to assert that his ability is due to the 
superior power of his God (verses 27-30). 

The meaning of the dream, in keeping with verse 
21, which may be considered the text of the book of 
Daniel, is that this God of the Jews and of heaven 
and earth is fashioning history according to his will; 
that the present world empire will be succeeded by 
others, like it relatively short-lived, and then will 
come a permanent kingdom expressing God's own 
ideal social order. This was a great sweep of faith 
to people to whom a great world empire seemed so 
powerful and age-long. 

If 5. The God of Daniel can and will deliver from 
the fiery furnace those who are faithful to him. 

Read Daniel 2:49 to 3:30. 

If 6. Daniel interprets a dream that is fulfilled 
completely, the fulfillment being illustrative of the 
temporariness and smallness of human kings. The 
great king of Babylon is through these events con- 
verted to the true God. 

Read Daniel 4. Compare Jonah 3. 

11 7. A strange writing on the wall is interpreted 
by Daniel, who survives the change of empires that 
he foresaw. 

Read Daniel 5. 

If 8. The God of Daniel not only shows his prophet 
how to predict, but delivers him even from a den of 
lions. Another king of another empire acknowledges 
the true and living God and makes a decree in his 
favor. 

Read Daniel 6. 



fl9] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 137 

f 9. The great vision of the course and culmi- 
nation of world history. 

Read Daniel 7. 

(a) This chapter plunges into the main subject and 
purpose of the book to which the preceding chapters 
have paved the way. It plunges also into the midst 
of a type of literature whose shallows have already 
been sounded, but whose depths and expanse are 
to be found, so7ar as the Old Testament is concerned, 
only in the book of Daniel. This literature, from 
the Greek word olttokoXv^ (apocalypsis), meaning 
"a laying bare, an uncovering, a revelation," is 
called apocalyptic* It usually refers to that spe- 
cies of prophetic literature that goes beyond present 
moral and religious issues and intermediate judg- 
ments of God in history to his final judgment upon 
the present historical order and his setting of the 
course of things as they ought to be and as he wishes 
them to be. 

Through the darkness of current conditions 
Apocalyptic looks to a glorious future brought on by 
God's working independent of human aid. Man 
merely waits on the Lord in faith, obedience, and 
trust. Apocalyptic tends to use the written rather 
than the spoken word and to employ highly colored 

a This may not be the logical, but it is deemed the psy- 
chological and pedagogical place to discuss the subject of 
apocalyptic. The instructor should remember that the 
present study is not an attempt to study the various 
phases of Biblical literature, but the Bible itself. Such 
a study involves a knowledge of the various phases of 
the literature just where it will throw most light upon 
the Bible text itself. 



138 An Outline of Old Testament [§32 

visions and pictures and symbolic language. It 
aims at a vindication of God — a theodicy — but in 
this it is not different from other forms of prophecy 
when they turn to the problems rather than the 
duties of life.* Apocalyptic makes its supreme 
appeal to faith in God and God's control of history, 
and urges a mood of steadfast loyalty to God as an 
outcome of this faith. The outstanding representa- 
tives of Apocalyptic are Daniel in the Old Testament, 
2 Esdras in the Apocrypha, Enoch, 1 preeminently, 
in the other late Jewish writings, and Revelation 
in the New Testament. Unless, however, one's 
definition be quite narrow, Joel, Zephaniah, Zech- 
ariah 9 to 14, Isaiah 24 to 27, as well as other shorter 
passages in the Old Testament, and Mark 13 and 1 
Thessalonians 4 : 13-18 and others in the New, must 
be included. 

It is certainly true that the deep things of God are 
spiritually discerned and often by ignorant and un- 
learned men, but it may be fairly said that an in- 
telligent Christian should not unwarily trust inter- 
preters of Daniel and Revelation who do not under- 
stand that these books are specimens of a type of 
literature widely prevalent in later Judaism and 
early Christianity, and who have not studied thor- 

♦Compare, for example, Isaiah 10 and 53, the book 
of Habakkuk, and even Amos 1 and 2. The whole pho- 
phetic history, furthermore, is as much an endeavor "to 
justify the ways of God to men" through a philosophy 
of past history as Apocalyptic is by positing a future 
judgment. 

*Quoted in the New Testament book of Jude, verse 14. 



If 9] Prophecy , Wisdom, and Worship 139 

oughly both the Biblical and the non-Biblical Apoc- 
alypses. 

One other point should be made just here. It 
has been customary in certain quarters to regard 
Daniel and Apocalypses generally as a much lower 
spiritual product than such prophecies as those of 
Amos. For the book of Daniel, however, to have 
reflected the message of Amos would have made its 
author a mere pessimistic calamity-howler. The 
age of Amos demanded arraignment and insistence 
on a strict social morality; the age of Daniel needed 
preeminently a message of hope and faith. Compare 
Ezekiel's rather sudden change of front when for- 
tunes of his people reached the lowest ebb. (§ 23, \ 1) . 

(b) No more classic specimen of Apocalyptic than 
the seventh chapter of Daniel can be found. The 
first kingdom, typified by the lion with eagle's wings, 
is generally understood to be the Babylonian; with 
regard to the others there are two main opinions. 
One view takes the second or "bear" kingdom to be 
that of the Medes; the third, the Persian; and the 
fourth, the kingdom of the unnamable beast, to be 
the Grecian. The other view regards the bear king- 
dom as that of the Medo-Persian, considered as one, 
the leopard kingdom as the Grecian, and the fourth 
kingdom as the Roman. In both views the object 
of the vision is the same: it is to say that all of these 
kingdoms and the succession of them are merely 
incidents in the plan of God, however little it may 
seem so at any moment. Though Right and Truth 
seem 

"forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne, 



140 An Outline of Old Testament [§32 

Yet that scaffold sways the future, and, behind the dim 

unknown, 
Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above 

his own." 

Compare Daniel 7:9-12 and 2:21. After these 
kingdoms, that may be fitly represented by ravenous 
beasts, have had their day, there shall come a king- 
dom, or as some think a king, like unto a man, or a 
son of man, to use the Aramaic phrase — a kingdom 
human, not beastly, and coming not out of the mon- 
ster-producing deep (verse 3), but on the clouds of 
heaven. This shall be a kingdom after God's own 
heart, and its dominion shall be forever. Such is the 
wide sweep and ultimate outlook of Apocalyptic at 
its best. 

The view that holds the second kingdom to be the 
Medo-Persian, and the fourth Rome, feels that after 
Rome had had her day the Christ came in literal 
fulfillment of the prophecy. The other view fre- 
quently insists that Apocalyptic must not be made 
to go on all fours, and that even Jesus professed not to 
know "the day and the hour." Apocalyptic should 
be taken in this view as an effort of the prophetic 
mind to reach out in terms of its own age after the 
glory that shall be. Successive visions enlarge and 
spiritualize the viewpoint of those that are past. 
So, it holds, the Davidic-kingdom and the Davidic- 
king emphasis recedes behind the Son-of-Man idea; 
that the "enemies . . . biting the dust" view of 
Israelitish conquest gives way to the missionary 
ideals of the book of Jonah; and that even of John 
the Baptist Jesus could say in effect, "Though no 



If 10] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 141 

greater prophet than John has arisen, yet he that 
is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he"; 
and John's ideas of a Messiah whose fan is in his 
hand must give place to a Messiah who heals the sick 
and preaches to the poor (Luke 3: 17, 4: 18, 19, 7: 22, 
23, and 28). 

Each view feels that Apocalyptic has a message 
for the present moment. One finds literal "signs" 
in the great war and the capture of Jerusalem. The 
other view feels that in an enlarged but not literal 
way the great war is the birth-pangs of a new era 
and a milestone along the road to the permanent 
peace of the kingdom of God — that is, to such a 
social order as God has had in mind all along and 
has revealed through his prophets in terms of the 
understanding of successive ages. 1 

If 10. The vision of the Antiochian persecution. 

There is no reason to doubt that the "little horn" 
of Daniel 8:9 represents Antiochus Epiphanes. To 
appreciate this chapter one must understand how 
important a period in Jewish — and, indeed, in all 
religious — history, the age of the Antiochian per- 
secution was. It is quite unfortunate that when 
Protestants rejected the apocryphal books from 
the canon of Scripture they neglected to read them 

*It is not the purpose of the present study to take 
sides on such questions, though one may sometimes guess 
as to where the author's sympathy lies. This lengthy 
statement has been deemed necessary in order to make 
the alternative views plain. For further interpretations 
and discussions one must be referred to the Commentaries 
and Monographs. 



142 An Outline of Old Testament [§32 

at all. They have in this way deprived themselves 
of a flood of light that might have illumined greatly 
the problems of both the Old and the New Testa- 
ments. The more thoughtful student could not do 
better than to secure a copy of the Apocrypha, pref- 
erably in the Revised Version, and read carefully 
the first book of Maccabees. During this period, 
when the Greco-Syrian tyrant, in his attempt to 
stamp out the religion of the Jews, polluted the tem- 
ple and "took away the continual burnt offering/' 
Judaism faced perhaps the most critical hour of its 
history. 

Whatever view one may take of the questions of 
the date and authorship of the book of Daniel, the 
eighth chapter is a ringing call to faith in the tem- 
porariness of the dominion of sacrilege and per- 
secution, and in the ultimate triumph of the right 
and of humble devoutness over the might of em- 
pire. 

With these points in mind, 

Read Daniel 8. 

If 11. The great prayer of confession: one of the 
prime forerunners of Paul's doctrine of God's free 
grace. 

Noting especially verses 11 and 18, 

Read Daniel 9:1-19. 

Compare carefully the doctrine here reflected 
with the teaching of Paul, particularly in Romans. 

If 12. The seventy years and the final vision. 

Read Daniel 9:20-27 and chapters 10 to 12. 

An even partially intelligible discussion of the 
problems of these visions would require, not a few, 



If 13] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 143 

but many paragraphs. Not because of any desire 
to evade them (for in a future work the author hopes 
to return sometime to them) ; but, because of the plan 
of the present work, the student desiring further 
aid in the interpretation of these chapters and, 
indeed, of Daniel and Apocalyptic in general, is 
referred to the following books for the several points 
of view: 

For the conservative: Deane, "Daniel, His Life 
and Times." 

For the Millenarian: A. C. Gabelein, "The Proph- 
et Daniel." 

For the critical: Frank C. Porter, "The Messages 
of the Apocalyptical Writers." 

The fair-minded student should seek to weigh 
carefully all these viewpoints and to be tolerant and 
generous to students whose views differ from his 
own. 

If 13. The book of Daniel, as has been seen, con- 
sists of two parts: the former mainly narrative, the 
latter a series of visions. This arrangement of 
narrative introducing prophecy, finding its prototype 
in Hosea ? becomes a normal one in Apocalyptic. 
Though the narrative portion is designed as an in- 
troduction to the remainder, it frequently has its 
own independent messages. The first half of Daniel 
certainly inculcates the idea that the regimen of the 
law is superior for the Jews to that of the heathen; 
and it urges Jews, therefore, to hold fast their 
religion and to prefer death to apostasy. Still more 
does it aim to set forth the powerlessness of the 
heathen gods and the power of Jehovah to deliver 



144 An Outline of Old Testament [§32 

his own. Chapter 5 aims to record, perhaps, an 
especial judgment upon a king who profaned the 
temple vessels. 

The most significant aspect, however, of the first 
six chapters of Daniel, taken by themselves, is its 
picture of the moral courage of the four Hebrews 
and especially of Daniel. Just as the Greek Alcestis 
and Penelope have become the world's figures for 
wifely faithfulness, Clytemnestra for womanly per- 
fidy, Shakespeare's Caliban for beastliness and 
Iago for villainy, and Hamlet, Becky Sharp, Uriah 
Heep, and others, each for his own type, so the ideal 
picture of moral courage has ever been Daniel. So 
determined, yet so calm and sure of himself, he was: 
"Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not 
defile hinself: . . . therefore" — what? "There- 
fore," one would expect to read, "he issued an ulti- 
matum"; but no — "therefore he requested" (Dan. 
1:8). Compare 6 : 10. In Daniel one realizes Bayard 
Taylor's ideal that "The bravest are the tenderest." 
So Luther goes to Worms, though every tile on the 
housetops were a devil; yet, standing before the 
tribunal, there is no defiance, but a calm "I can do 
no other." Always the highest courage is without 
bluster. "Dare to be a Daniel" says everything 
that needs to be said on moral courage. 

Yet it must be insisted that this ideal as well as 
the other considerations mentioned above are second- 
ary in the first six chapters of the book of Daniel. 
The instinct of the older interpreters went straighter 
to the heart of the book than the modern historical 
and ethical interest. When Freeborn Garretson 



1fl3] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 145 

was threatened with punishment, he did not find 
his inspiration in the courage, but rather in the faith, 
of Daniel: "The God of Daniel will take care of 
me/' he said. So the old-fashioned song does not 
urge one to "Dare to be a Daniel," but insists that 
the "Old-time religion" was "good enough for the 
prophet Daniel." 

With these points in mind, and considering the 
first six chapters as intending to show Daniel's 
ability as a prophet and the power of God to deliver 
those who are true and loyal to him, and getting the 
assurance and sweep of the message of the book in 
the light of your entire study, 

Read at a sitting the book of Daniel. 
10 



CHAPTER XI 

THE LEGAL AND PRIESTLY ENACTMENTS AND IDEALS 
§ 33. The Legal and Priestly Element of Exodus. 

Tfl. The survey of the prophetic oracles and ser- 
mons has now been completed. The main purpose 
has been to study, not the prophetic movement, but 
the prophetic messages contained in the prophetic 
books themselves. This has, of course, involved 
some consideration of the movement called prophet- 
ism. Back of the earliest writing prophets there is 
a long prophetic development, traces of which are 
found in the historical books and are treated to a de- 
gree in the "Outline for the Study of Old Testament 
History." It is not feasible to go further into this 
development. Likewise, the later issue of the pro- 
phetic spirit in Jewish apocalyptic as well as its in- 
fluence upon Jewish scribism must be passed over. 

Alongside the prophet, however, from the earliest 
times stood the priest and the priestly interest, and 
this priestly interest has left its impress upon the 
life and literature of the Old Testament. In the 
earlier prophetic books the prophet makes a broad- 
side attack upon the priest and the popular worship, 
for it is not the prophets or priests of Baal that Amos 
attacks, but the worshipers at the chief shrines of 
Israel. Likewise Hosea, champion as he was of the 
strictest religious loyalty rather than of the social and 
ethical program of Amos, utters from Jehovah the 
meaningful warning, "I desire goodness, and not 
(146) 



ft2] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 147 

sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt 
offerings." * Isaiah seems even more wholesale than 
his predecessors in his insistence upon the ethical 
as over against the ritual; but, as has been seen, 
Isaiah's relation to the temple marks a new era in 
the alliance of the prophetic and priestly in Old 
Testament religion. This alliance is further cement- 
ed by the cooperation of priest and prophet in the 
reformation under Josiah. Jeremiah, though him- 
self of priestly descent, seems to stand in this regard 
in the succession of Amos rather than of Isaiah, 
but the union of priestly and prophetic becomes an 
established fact in Ezekiel. It must not be forgotten, 
however, that Ezekiel represents a priestliness 
purified of attachment to the local shrines and their 
not-infrequently debasing practices. The subsequent 
development may be regarded, according to one's 
viewpoint, as the priestly conquest of prophetism 
or as a uniquely successful permeation of the priestly 
by the prophetic spirit. 

Some of the Old Testament laws are of a civil 
and secular character; but as so large a portion of 
them deal with priestly enactments, and as the 
priests seem to have become the guardians of civil 
law, it is customary to regard the Old Testament 
law as a part of the priestly element. 

\ 2. Before entering into the priestly and legal 
portions of Exodus, it is well to glance at the priestly 
and legal aspects of Genesis. Genesis is history 
rather than law, but its author is interested in the 

*Hosea 6:6. 



148 An Outline of Old Testament [§33 

origin not only of the Hebrew race but of their basic 
religious institutions as well. 

(a) The very account of creation itself finds its 
climax in the hallowing of the Sabbath. 

Read Genesis 2:1-3. 

(6) Central in the story of Abraham's life is the 
covenant of circumcision. 

Read Genesis 17. 

These two are the fundamental ceremonial in- 
stitutions of Judaism, and their significant position 
in the book of Genesis must not be overlooked. An 
interesting, fanciful rewriting of the Genesis story ^ 
magnifying these and other institutions, is found in 
the apocryphal book of Jubilees. 

(c) The other priestly-legal aspects of Genesis of 
most importance are Jacob's pledge of the tithe 
(28: 22) and the sacrifices of Cain and Abel, of Noah, 
and of Abraham, with the climax in the offering of 
Isaac. 

It is these several emphases on the Sabbath, 
circumcision, the tithes and sacrifice, it seems, that 
give Genesis its right to a place in the first Jewish 
canon of scripture, "The Law." 

If3. The Passover: next to circumcision and the 
Sabbath, the central religious institution of the He- 
brews. 

(a) It is necessary, especially in the treatment of 
Exodus and Numbers, to suggest the reading of some 
passages whose historical aspects are treated in the 
"Outline for the Study of Old Testament History," 
the reading of some longer passages being recommend- 
ed and that of some shorter ones insisted upon as 



fl4] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 140 

inherently necessary to the understanding of the 
priestly and legal viewpoints. It would be well, in 
order to appreciate the Passover more fully, to 

Read at a sitting Exodus 7: 14 to 11: 10. 

In any case, 

(6) Read Exodus 12:1 to 13:16. 

Answer in your own words the following questions: 

What does the Passover celebrate? How is it 
observed? What respectively do the lamb and the 
unleavened bread symbolize? Who partakes of the 
Passover (12:43-50)? What is the law of the first- 
born? And what is its connection with the Pass- 
over? 

If 4. The Ten Commandments. 

(1) Perhaps the first Hebrew canon, or "Bible," 
the precursor of the Pentateuch and its canonization 
as "The Law," was, it has been well said, "The 
Commandments." Two very similar versions of the 
Decalogue, or Ten Commandments/ are found in 
the Pentateuch, Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 
5:6-21. The chief points of interest in comparing 
the two versions are in the reason assigned for the 
observance of the Sabbath and the order of items 
in the tenth commandment. 

(a) Read Exodus 20:11 and Deuteronomy 5:14&, 
15. 

What is the difference? Which represents the 
more priestly and which the more prophetic view- 



a The consideration of another Decalogue that some 
scholars think to find in Exodus is, like many other such 
problems, beyond the scope of the present study. 



150 An Outline of Old Testament [§33 

point? What do you think of the two ideals here 
evinced? 

(b) Read also Exodus 20:17 and Deuteronomy 
5:21. 

The word "house" in each case does not mean, 
probably, the material house, but the household. 
In Exodus the wife seems to be considered the chief 
item in the man's household alongside of, yet above, 
the servants and the animals. This reflects a more 
primitive ideal. Recall the social life of Abraham 
and Jacob. Deuteronomy represents a higher point 
of view. The wife is here higher than and separate 
from the "servants" and animals. Remember that 
the servants are not those who are paid wages, but 
dependents and slaves, another indication of the 
primitive situation, the misunderstanding of which 
fact made many Southern leaders defend slavery as 
a Christian institution. 

(2) Now read Exodus 20:1-17. 

Memorize these commandments, if you do not 
already know them — or would you prefer to memorize 
the Deuteronomic version? At any rate, now read 
the latter, Deuteronomy 5:6-21. The first four 
commandments are usually thought of as command- 
ing duties to God ; the remaining six, duties to one's 
fellow men. Some scholars think the first five rep- 
resent duties to God, the relation to parents being 
considered by ancient peoples as having a religious 
character not accorded to one's relation to his 
neighbors. 

There is some difference in the various versions 



If 6] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 151 

and texts as to the numbering of the Ten Command- 
ments: see the commentaries on this point. 

(3) Does Exodus 20:2 set forth Jehovah as the 
supreme God of all the earth? Or does it reflect a 
less broad ideal than, say, 1 Kings 18:39 or the book 
of Jonah or of Daniel? The early religion of Israel 
is not based on God's creatorship, but on his deliver- 
ance and salvation. Recall your previous study of 
the Bible, asking this question, How far is gratitude 
to God as creator, and how far is gratitude to him as 
savior and deliverer the leading religious motive? 
Keep this question in mind in your future study. 
What is the meaning of the first commandment? 

(4) How far is the punishment threatened in the 
second commandment and how far the reward offered 
in the second and fifth social? how far individual? 
What is the Pauline view of the uniqueness of the 
fifth and of the tenth commandment (Eph. 6:2 and 
Rom. 7:7)? 

(5) The thunderings of Sinai. 
Read Exodus 20:18-21. 

1[5. What especial exhortations concerning wor- 
ship are given? 

Read Exodus 20:22-26. 

f 6. Certain social laws concerning Hebrew slaves 
(21:1-11); injuries to persons (21:12-32); and of- 
fenses against property (21:33 to 22:15). 

Read Exodus 21:1 to 22:15. 

What spirit is reflected in these laws? and what 
stage of civilization? What would you say of the 
social ideals reflected in 21 : 7? Note especially the 
sacredness of the "oath of Jehovah" in 22:11. 



152 An Outline of Old Testament [§33 

If 7. Certain miscellaneous laws. 

Read Exodus 22:16 to 23:19. 

Some scholars think that Exodus 22 : 16, 17 belongs 
with the preceding rather than with the following 
verses, as being an offense against property: compare 
the way "wife" is placed after "house" in Exodus 
20: 17. What do you think of this view? 

Note that the sympathy for the poor and defense- 
less found in the prophetic writings is reflected here 
also. Observe especially the provision against "in- 
terest"; for this, not "exorbitant interest" is the 
meaning. What sort of an economic situation does 
this indicate? 

If 8. What are the threats and promises annexed 
to these laws? 

Read Exodus 23:20-33. 

11 9. The sealing of the covenant and the vision 
of God. 

Read Exodus 24. 

From 24:7 the preceding portion (Ex. 20:22 to 
23:33) of the book is often called the "Book of the 
Covenant." 

1[ 10. Instructions concerning the tabernacle. 

(1) The order to build a sanctuary by popular 
collection. 

Read Exodus 25: 1-7. 

(2) What are the chief sacred paraphernalia? 
Noting particularly verses 10 (with 19), 23, and 31, 

Read Exodus 25:8-40. 

(3) The tabernacle itself. 
Read Exodus 26. 

Notice especially the holy place, also the holy of 



If 11] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 153 

holies, with the ark and its mercy seat, in verses 
31-37. 

(4) The altar and the court and the continually 
lighted lamp. 

Read Exodus 27. 

(5) The priests, their vestments and the ceremony 
of their consecration. 

Read Exodus 28:1 to 29:37. 

(6) The continual burnt offering and the promise 
of the presence of Jehovah. 

Read Exodus 29:38-46. 

Recall the importance of this to Daniel, the most 
horrible of calamities being its discontinuance. 

(7) The altar of incense, the ransom tax, the laver 
of brass, the anointing oil, and the incense. 

Read Exodus 30:1 to 31:11. 

(8) Two special injunctions concerning the Sabbath. 
Read Exodus 31:12-17 and 35:1-3. 

If 11. The remaining portion of Exodus is history 
rather than law, but it is history immediately con- 
nected with the worship and the tabernacle. Part 
of it is treated in the "Outline for the Study of Old 
Testament History," but should be read here also 
to understand the setting of the tabernacle worship. 
One section of pure legal enactment has been very 
much discussed amongst scholars and deserves 
separate notice, though a discussion of it is beyond 
the present purpose. One who wishes at this time 
to pursue the point must be referred to the com- 
mentaries. 

(1) Read Exodus 34:14-26. 

(2) Now read rapidly Exodus 31: 18 to 40:38. 



154 An Outline of Old Testament [§33 

IT 12. Perhaps the student may tire of being told 
that problems met are beyond the scope of the 
present study, but one needs to be reminded of how 
limitless are the treasures and the perplexities of 
Bible study — as indeed of the total range of knowl- 
edge. Certainly one needs to be so reminded at 
this point, for a satisfactory treatment of the legal 
element of Exodus and Numbers and of the whole 
book of Leviticus involves many phases and un- 
limited comparisons. One can aim now only at a 
general idea. 

It must be confessed, on the other hand, that even 
a general idea of Hebrew ritual and worship is more 
than most Bible students have, and it should be the 
aim of the student to see that such a general idea 
remains as a permanent possession. It is a mistake 
to feel with many extreme Protestants that these 
laws, having been done away in Christ, are no longer 
worthy of attention; or with some advanced critics 
that the priestly inspiration and insight are so far 
beneath or so definitely opposed to the prophetic 
that the whole priestly literature is worthless or even 
a clog upon religion. 

Religion is not merely ethics, however exalted; it 
is fellowship with God. The ultimate test of a re- 
ligion includes not only the question how well it 
makes a man deal in relation to his fellows, but how 
thoroughly it makes him feel at home in the universe; 
how fully it gives meaning to individual and com- 
munal existence and makes life seem worth living; 
and how deep and abiding and ultimately good an 
experience it gives to the soul. What is the use of 



If 12] Prophecy ', Wisdom, and Worship 155 

being generous and kind to the less fortunate if the 
best that can be done for them is to raise them to a 
capacity for an experience and view of life that is 
essentially unsatisfactory and unsatisfying? 

The test of worship is not what it can do for God, 
who needeth not the service of men's hands, but 
whether it can bring into the soul of man a sense of 
the divine presence and a justifiable sense of the 
right sort of Divine Presence. A worship that brings 
into a hard-hearted, unbrotherly soul a sense of 
fellowship with God, or that brings perfectly a sense 
of the Divine, but of a "Divine" that is unkindly 
and forbidding, is certainly of less value than a wor- 
ship that, demanding righteousness and brother- 
liness, brings into the heart a sense of the presence 
of the Divine Father. 

The proper worship of to-day may be very simple 
and the service may be largely given over to the 
prophetic sermon, though it is surely (is it not?) a 
false emphasis that counts the opening worship "pre- 
liminaries"; or it many be of a more didactic syna- 
gogue-like, intellectualistic sort; or an elaborate 
ritual ceremony: this is not the problem. Rather 
the problem is to get the spirit and meaning of the 
ancient Hebrew worship. Sketch again paragraphs 
10 and 11 and the Biblical material referred to in 
them and ask yourself how adequate this ancient 
worship was for its task. Compare it in ethical out- 
look and in religious possibilities with what you know 
of other ancient worships. Consider the realities, 
as far as you can conjecture them, that the various 
phases symbolize, and ask yourself how far these 



150 An Outline of Old Testament [§34 

symbols and these realities were valuable and ade- 
quate. 

With the Exodus description of Hebrew ceremony 
in mind and for an appreciation of its worship- 
value, 

Read again Isaiah 6. 

Compare the feeling of worshipful awe that comes 
over one on entering a great European cathedral or 
the spiritual aid of external surroundings in a modern 
sunrise prayer meeting. 

Keep the attitude of this discussion in mind in 
your further study of the priestly element, remember- 
ing, moreover, that Christian theology is built not 
merely upon the doctrines of the prophets but upon 
the values and heart needs voiced in the Old Testa- 
ment ritual as well. Compare especially the New 
Testament "Epistle to the Hebrews." 

§ 34. Leviticus. 

f 1. The five chief types of offering. Observing 
that 6:8 to 7:38 is largely a set of additional pre- 
cepts concerning these five types, taking them in a 
slightly different order, 

Read Leviticus 1 to 7. 

What are these five types? 

If 2. The priestly consecration and priestly duties 
and portions. 

Read Leviticus 8 to 10. 

The most of this passage is referred to, also, in the 
study of the history. 

If 3. Laws of purification. 

Says Kennedy: 



fl4] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 157 

One of the oldest and most important functions of the 
Hebrew priesthood was ... to "put difference be- 
tween the holy and common, and between the clean and 
the unclean." . . . This difference is the main sub- 
ject of the following chapters, in which "the subject of 
sacrifice, with which the priesthood is first concerned 
(chapters 1 to 10), now makes way for the treatment 
of uncleanness and purification under four heads: Ani- 
mals, 11; childbirth, 12; leprosy, 13 to 14; issues, 15." 
. . . As regards the subject matter of this division 
of Leviticus, it has been truly said that "among the 
varied religious acts of man there is probably none that 
has been so widely prevalent throughout the different 
races of mankind as the ritual of purification, nor does 
any idea seem to have possessed so strong a legislative 
power in the various departments of our life as the con- 
cept of purity.* 

Now read Leviticus 11 to 15. 

Which of these laws had quarantine value? Ob- 
serve how, in 12:8 and 14:21, the Hebrew priest, 
like the Hebrew prophet, considers the poor. 

None of these topics call for detailed consideration 
here; again the student is referred to the commenta- 
ries and special treatises. 

If 4. The Day of Atonement. 

The early sacrifices of the Hebrews seem to have 
been joyous religious feasts: the more somber 
character of the Mosaic ritual was the result of a 
prophetic moralization with its deeper sense of sin. 
"The unique and impressive ritual of the Day of 
Atonement, to retain the current designation, is the 
culmination and crown," says Kennedy, "of the 



*The New Century Bible, "Leviticus," page 81. 



158 An Outline of Old Testament [§34 

sacrificial worship of the Old Testament." * It stands 
along with circumcision and the Sabbath (§33, */\2), 
the Passover (§33 If 3), and the daily offering (§33, 
If 10 (6) ). Keeping these four institutions in mind, 

Read Leviticus 16. 

Compare the religious significance of this ritual 
with the prayer of Daniel (§32, If 11). For the New 
Testament symbolism of the Passover and the Day 
of Atonement, 

Read 1 Corinthians 5:7, 8 and Hebrews 9. 

1f5. The Holiness Code. 

(1) The first seven chapters of Leviticus, as has 
been seen, present laws relating to the five types of 
offerings; the second section (8 to 10) recounts the 
consecration of the Aaronic priesthood; then come 
the laws concerning purification (chapters 11 to 15), 
culminating in the Day of Atonement, which from 
its importance was treated as a separate section. 
The remaining portion, with chapter 27 considered 
either as an appendix to the section or to the entire 
book, has usually been called the Holiness Code. 
Let the student notice how frequently the words 
"holy/' "defile," "profane," and the like occur, and 
how fully the ideal of holiness dominates the section. 
Compare especially 19:2 and 1 Peter 1:15, 16. 

(2) The most significant portion of the Holiness 
Code is chapter 19, the high- water mark of the 
ethics of the priestly element. Observing particularly 
its attitude toward the poor and the sojourner, its 
insistence upon just weights and measures, and its 

♦Book cited, page 110. 



J[5] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 159 

injunction, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy- 
self," 

Read Leviticus 19. 

On "Who is my neighbor?" compare verses 18 and 
34. 

Note that all of these principles have a religious 
ground: "I am Jehovah your God." 

(3) Closely akin to these laws and the prophetic 
ideals of non-oppression of the poor are the land, 
interest, and slavery laws. 

Read Leviticus 25. 

Remember that usury means, not exorbitant in- 
terest, but any interest. In a non-industrial social 
organization money is not borrowed from bankers 
to make more money, but from friends to tide over 
financial straits. Compare Jesus's parable of the 
talents in the days of the bankers, where "mine own 
with usury" seemed a natural and a justifiable claim. 

(4) Read chapters IS and 20, laws chiefly con- 
cerned with sexual purity. These seem a mass of 
details, but life is filled with particular cases, and 
this codification must have formed many standards 
that greatly protected Israel. 

(5) Laws concerning sacrifice, the priesthood, and 
the sacred seasons. 

Read Leviticus 17, 21, 22, and 23; also sketch 
chapter 25 again for its announcement of sacred 
seasons: it has already been considered from the 
standpoint of its humanitarian laws. 

(6) Laws concerning the sacred oil, the shewbread, 
and the sin of blasphemy. 

Read Leviticus 24. 



160 An Outline of Old Testament [§34 

(7) The appendix on vows. 
Read Leviticus 27. 

(8) The hortatory address. What are the prom- 
ises and penalties attached to the Holiness Code? 

Read Leviticus 26. 

Compare Malachi 3:10-12, Isaiah 1:10-20, Haggai 
1:7-11, Amos 2:6-8 and 4:1-12. 

Note the doctrine of 26:44. Compare the similar 
conception in the prophets, in the Apocrypha, and 
in Romans 11. 

§ 35. The Legal-Priestly Portions of Numbers. 

If 1. Commenting on Leviticus 1 : 1, Adam Clarke's 
commentary says of Leviticus: "From the manner 
in which the book commences, it appears plainly to 
be a continuation of the preceding; and, indeed, the 
whole is but one law, though divided into five por- 
tions, and why thus divided it is not easy to be 
conjectured."* In his commentary on Numbers, 
George Buchanan Gray is more specific: 

The first section of Numbers (1:1 to 10:10) may- 
be regarded as an appendix to the books of Exodus and 
Leviticus. The arrival of the Israelites in the wilder- 
ness of Sinai is recorded in Exodus 19:1, their depar- 
ture therefrom in Numbers 10:llf. (33); and thus the 
scene of all that lies between these two passages is the 
same. Not only so, the main subjects of Exodus 19:1 to 
Numbers 10:11 are closely related, and, indeed, parts of 
a single conception — the due organization of the people 
with a view to securing the sanctifying presence of 
Yahweh in their midst. The closing chapters of Exodus 
are primarily connected with the building of the taber- 

*Vol. I., page 506, "New Edition with the Author's 
Final Corrections"; Eaton and Mains, New York. 



fl3] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 161 

nacle for the divine presence; Leviticus, with the insti- 
tution of the sacrificial system, by means of which the 
people were to approach Yahweh, and of the priesthood, 
the members of which were to be the immediate ministers 
of Yahweh; the opening chapters on Numbers, with the 
institution of the Levites, who were to be the ministers 
of the priests, and with the arrangement of the camp in 
such manner as to symbolize the holiness and unap- 
proachableness of Yahweh. At present all three sections 
of Exodus 19:1 to Numbers 10:10 contain also mis- 
cellaneous laws and regulations not closely related to 
the main conception (see chiefly Exodus 20 to 23, Le- 
viticus 17 to 26, Numbers 5f.); but this ought not to 
obscure the essential unity of the whole. Clearly, then, 
Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers might have been more 
suitably, though very unequally, divided as follows: (1) 
Exodus 1 to 18, The Exodus from Egypt to Sinai; (2) 
Exodus 19 to Numbers 10:10, Sinai; (3) Numbers 10: 
11 to 36:13, From Sinai to the Jordan.* 

If 2. The separation of the tribe of Levi and its 
special commission. 

Read Numbers 1:47-54 and 2:17, and sketch 
Numbers 3:1-39. 

Compare the second census, 

Reading Numbers 26:57-62. 

1J3. The significance and duties, and the census 
of the Levites between the ages of thirty and fifty. 

Read Numbers 3:40 to 4:49. 

What was the significance of the Levites — whose 
place did they take? 

It is noteworthy that not the so-called book of 
Leviticus but the book of Numbers busies itself the 
more with the affairs of the Levites. 

11 *Page xxiv. 



162 An Outline of Old Testament [§34 

1[4. The ordeal of jealousy and the law of the 
Nazarite, following short references to matters in a 
measure already treated. 

Read Numbers 5:1 to 6:21. 

What is the method of the ordeal? What is a 
Nazarite? 

If 5. Learn by heart the Priestly Blessing. 

Read Numbers 6:22-27. 

Compare the New Testament benedictions: 2 
Corinthians 13:14, 1 Thessalonians 5:28, Hebrews 
13:20, 21, 1 Peter 5:14&, Romans 1:7, etc. 

If 6. The offerings of the chieftains and the con- 
secration of the Levites. 

Read Numbers 7 and 8. 

What are the ages of service and superannuation 
of the Levites? 

1T7. A special case adjudicated. 

Read Numbers 9:1-14. 

After all, law is not a series of general principles 
or of statutory enactments, but a series of interpre- 
tations of special situations. It was a wise judge who 
said, "I care not who makes your laws, if I interpret 
them." The general practice of the courts is the 
supreme law of the land. 

Compare Numbers 27:1-11 for a similar judicial 
precedent on inheritance through the female line. 
Later an additional problem arises upon this one. 

Read Numbers 36. 

1f8. Instead of the quaint tribal family altar of 
Abraham's day, a delineation of a mighty moving 
worship appears. The arrangement within the taber- 
nacle, the disposition of the priest and the Levites, 



If 15] Prophecy ■, Wisdom, and Worship 163 

and the character of the chief offerings have been 
studied. Now, recalling these, 

Read Numbers 9:15 to 10:10 and 10:33-36. 

Consider the awe-inspiring character of such a 
scene. 

f 9. Miscellaneous laws. 

Noting especially the provision of sacrifice for un- 
witting sin and the severity toward willful sin, 

Read Numbers 15. 

If 10. "Aaron's rod that budded," the priestly pre- 
eminence and the priestly support. 

Read Numbers 17 and 18. 

Compare 18:21 with §33, If 2 (c). 

If 11. How was ritual defilement caused by touch- 
ing of a dead body removed? 

Read Numbers 19. 

If 12. The list of offerings for the national com- 
munity. 

Note that first and fundamental is the daily offer- 
ing; then the special days, the Sabbath, the first of 
the month, the first of the seventh month, the Day 
of Atonement on the tenth of the seventh month; 
then the three special feasts. 

Read chapters 28 and 29. 

If 13. What are the special regulations with regard 
to vows of women? Noting that verse 9 seems 
parenthetical, 

Read Numbers 30. 

1f 14. What was the law of division of booty? 

Read Numbers 31. 

If 15. In the general allotment of territory what 
provision is made for the Levites? 



1G4 An Outline of Old Testament [§35 

Read Numbers 35:1-8. 

If 16. The legislation feels out toward a higher 
law concerning homicide. 

Read Numbers 35:9-34. 

Says Gray: 

In three important respects the present law modifies 
the ancient custom: (1) It insists that life is to be for- 
feited only in case of willful murder; in primitive cus- 
tom it makes no difference whether loss of life was due 
to malice or accident; in either case loss had been inflicted 
on one family by another, and it was the duty of the 
goel to see that that loss was made good. (2) The law 
tacitly insists that the life of the actual murderer only 
can become forfeit. In primitive custom it was a matter 
of indifference whether the loss inflicted on a family 
was made good by shedding the blood of the actual homi- 
cide or another member of his family. (3) The law for- 
bids the acceptance of a money equivalent for a forfeited 
life. But in spite of these important modifications the 
law is transitional; it still leaves the exaction of the 
forfeited life to the goel had-dam, the representative of 
the family, instead of making it the duty of a representa- 
tive of the whole community; and thus it does not abol- 
ish the ancient family institution, but simply modifies 
and regulates it in the larger interests of the State. In 
the case of accidental homicide the community or State 
prevents the goel discharging his duty to his family; in 
case of murder, it insists that he shall discharge that 
duty in a particular way — viz., by taking the life of the 
murderer. But though it thus remains to the last tran- 
sitional, Hebrew law marks a very distinct advance by so 
modifying primitive custom as to secure an adequate pun- 
ishment for the individual guilty of murder, and a clear 
distinction between accidental and willful homicide.* 

So the Mosaic prescription concerning divorce, 

♦Book cited, page 471. 



ftl] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 165 

though an advance over primitive freedom of divorce, 
is yet, according to Jesus (Mark 10:2-9), far below 
the divine ideal. 

§ 36. Deuteronomy. 

If 1. Deuteronomy, like Ezekiel, represents a union 
of the prophetic with the priestly spirit. In the 
latter there appears a prophet in whom the priestly 
interest is central; in the former a law book sur- 
charged with the prophetic spirit. Robinson says of it : 

The book of Deuteronomy can claim a unique place 
in the literature of the Old Testament, both on intrinsic 
and extrinsic grounds. Intrinsically, it is distinct from 
the narrative and historical, the legislative and ritual, the 
prophetic and devotional writings. Apart from the clos- 
ing chapters, which are clearly of the nature of an ap- 
pendix, the elements of direct narration are so slight as 
to be negligible; the review of history which the book 
contains is subordinated to a practical purpose. Though 
many laws are here recorded, they are for the most 
part so selected and presented as to be illustrations of 
a principle rather than elements in a code; whilst com- 
parison with Leviticus will quickly convince the reader 
that the interest is moral rather than ritual. Affinity 
with certain of the prophets is unmistakable, nor is the 
tone of the book without many parallels in the devo- 
tional warmth of the Psalter; yet the unity of Deuter- 
onomy is the product of principles rather than personali- 
ties, principles emerging in a national, not merely an in- 
dividual, experience. In short, we may most aptly com- 
pare the sustained and illustrated exhortation of this 
book with a sermon, if only the parallel convey no preju- 
dice of dullness. It is a sermon so reported as to pre- 
serve the spiritual warmth of a Bernard preaching the 
crusade, the flaming zeal of a Savonarola kindling the 
Florentine fire of vanities; whilst with this more pas- 



1GG An Outline of Old Testament [§3G 

sionate feeling against idolatry there is a noble humani- 
tarianism, a consideration for the stranger and the help- 
less, an appeal to deep human sympathies, not unworthy 
of a Francis of Assisi. . . . 

The book of Deuteronomy, as it now lies before us, 
consists of several addresses, professedly delivered by 
Moses to the Israelites in the land of Moab on the eve 
of their entrance into Palestine (1:1-5, 4:44-49, 9:1, 
31:1 f.). To these are added four chapters (31 to 34) 
narrating the appointment of Joshua in place of Moses 
(31:3 f., 14 f.), the writing down by Moses of the law 
just given (verses 9 f., 24 f.), and the ascent by Moses, at 
the command of God, of Mount Nebo (Pisgah), where 
he dies (32:48 f., 34). In this narrative are incorporated 
two poems, the "Song" (chapter 32) and the "Blessing" 
(chapter 33), ascribed to Moses and to this particular 
occasion.* 

If 2. As the narrative portions of Deuteronomy are 
not in point here, the main concern is with chapters 
5-30: therefore 

Sketch Deuteronomy 1 to 4, reading more care- 
fully 1:9-17, 4:1-40, and 4:41-49. 

Observe the emphasis upon religious education 
and upon freedom from idolatry. 

If 3. The hortatory introduction to the second and 
principal address of Deuteronomy. 

(1) The Deuteronomic version of the Ten Com- 
mandments has already been considered. Compare 
§33,H4. 

(2) The deeper problem of life, however, is not 
one of law, but of regeneration. Comparing Jesus 
and Paul and noting particularly verse 29, 

Read Deuteronomy 5:28-33. 

*New Century Bible, "Deuteronomy," pages 2 and 3. 



U 3] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 167 

(3) The "first and greatest commandment/ ' 
Noting especially verse 4, 

Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 

Driver heads his discussion of Deuteronomy 6:4, 
5, "The fundamental truth of Israel's religion, the 
uniqueness and unity of Jehovah; and the funda- 
mental duty founded upon it — viz., the devotion to 
him of the Israelite's entire being."* Jesus was not 
alone in calling this the greatest commandment: 
compare Luke 10:25-28. The command of verse 8 
was taken literally in later Judaism, and the wearing 
of the phylacteries containing Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 
11:13-21 was obligatory upon every male Israelite 
at the ordinary morning prayer.** 

(4) The purpose of the statutes is Israel's good; 
the ground of Israel's love and obedience is to be 
gratitude for redemption. 

Read Deuteronomy 6:20-25. 

(5) The former inhabitants of Canaan are to be 
exterminated to avoid polluting Israel's religion. 

Read Deuteronomy 7:1-6, 16 and 22. 

(6) Israel's superior blessings are not of works, 
but of grace. Comparing the spirit of Daniel 9, 

Read Deuteronomy 7:7, 8, 14, 8:16, 17, 9:4-7. 

(7) Israel is to make Jehovah the object of its 
faith and concern. 

Read Deuteronomy 6:4 and 13-18, 7:9, 10, and 
18,8:3 and 11 and 15. 

international Critical Commentary, "Deuteronomy," 
page 89. 

**See Scheurer, "The Jewish People in the Time of 
Jesus Christ," Second Division, Vol. II., page 113. 



108 An Outline of Old Testament [§36 

(8) In Jehovah's commandment there is life; in 
disobedience is ruin. 

Read Deuteronomy 5:33, 7:9-11, 11:26-28. 

(9) Now read through connectedly the hortatory 
introduction to the second address, Deuteronomy 
5 to 11, noting the points stressed above and others 
that impress you. Formulate carefully your idea of 
the passage and its place in Hebrew and in Christian 
religion. 

If 4. The Deuteronomic Code and the centraliza- 
tion and protection of the religious life. 

(1) There was no more far-reaching event in 
Israel's history than the centralization of the worship 
in Jerusalem. Through this reform the lower Ca- 
naanitish cults were overcome and Hebrew mono- 
theism was enabled to become the religion of the peo- 
ple. There were dangers, of course, and rather fully 
were they realized in the later Jewish priestcraft; 
but it is hardly too much to say that such centraliza- 
tion was necessary to the preservation of the religion 
of the prophets. 

Read Deuteronomy 12:1-14. 

(2) In the settled agricultural conditions, cen- 
tralization requires a relaxing of the custom of re- 
garding every slaughtered animal as a religious 
sacrifice; but it demands especial enforcement of 
the prohibition of blood, which was fundamental to 
Israelitish ideals. 

Read Deuteronomy 12:15-28. 

(3) The Deuteronomic laws for the prevention 
of apostasy from Jehovah are very strict and se- 
vere. 



ff5] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 169 

Read Deuteronomy 12:29 to 13:18 and 16:21 to 
17:7. 

(4) Heathen customs of mourning for the dead 
and the eating of animals ceremonially unclean are 
prohibited. 

Read Deuteronomy 14:1-21. 

(5) What is the Deuteronomic law concerning the 
tithe? 

Read Deuteronomy 14:22-29. 
Notice the humanitarian character of the last 
provision. 

(6) What still more significant humanitarian 
aspects has the Deuteronomic law? 

Read Deuteronomy 15:1-18. 
Observe that an especially likely danger is guarded 
against (verses 7 and 8). 

(7) The law of firstlings. 
Read Deuteronomy 15:19-23. 

(8) The Deuteronomic statement of the three 
great feasts. 

Read Deuteronomy 16:1-17. 

If 5. The Deuteronomic Code continued: the lead- 
ers of the national and religious life. 

The judges are enjoined to be just and impartial, 
and a central court for difficult cases is provided; 
the king must not be warlike nor dissolute, but he 
must follow the law; the priesthood must be sup- 
ported; magic is to be eschewed and resort must be 
had to a prophet of the Mosaic type. 

Read Deuteronomy 16:18-20 and 17:8 to 18: 
22. 



170 An Outline of Old Testament [§36 

1f6. The Deuteronomic Code continued: Miscella- 
neous laws. 

(1) This section of the book, chapters 19 to 26, 
presents a group of miscellaneous laws. Among 
other things in these laws, several matters are worthy 
of remark. 

(a) The Deuteronomic sympathy for the unfor- 
tunate: the mitigation of the treatment of captive 
women and of the less favored wife (21 : 10-17) ; the 
runaway slave (23:15 and 16); the poor man's 
pledge and regular payment of the hired man's wages 
(24:6 and 15); the law of gleanings (24:19-22); the 
unmuzzled ox (25:4). 

(b) The reaching out toward a more adequate 
criminal law: the protection of the innocent man- 
slayer and the punishment of the guilty through the 
law concerning the cities of refuge (19:1-13); the 
law of evidence (19: 15-21) ; a the expiation of an 
"untraced murder" (21:1-9). 

(c) The problem of sex relationships (other than 
the cases of captive women and less favored wives 
already considered); the law of divorce (24:1-4; 
compare § 35, If 16) ; the levirate marriage, so-called 
from the latin word "levir," a husband's brother 
(25:5-10). 

(d) Certain liturgical and ecclesiastical laws on 
first fruits and the tithes (26:1-15). 

(e) Now, noting whatever other laws especially 
impress you, 

Read Deuteronomy 19 to 26. 

^Compare the later safeguard set forth in the Apocry- 
phal book, "The History of Susanna." 



fllO] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship i7i 

(2) Observe here, as also in the other legal books, 
that while some of the laws are distinctly priestly 
and that while the priest, like the scribe, later, was 
to a large degree the custodian of the law, never- 
theless much of the law was distinctly civil and 
"secular." Remember also that Deuteronomy is 
really more prophetic than priestly in tone. 

If 7. The next passage concerns the ratification 
of the law and pronounces certain solemn curses. 
Does it seem to you an interlude written in the third 
person, about Moses, not by him? Comparing 
verses 1, 9, and 11, 

Read Deuteronomy 27. 

1f 8. The conclusion of the second Mosaic address: 
what seems to be the pith and point of it? 

Read Deuteronomy 28 and 29: 1. 

If 9. What is the purport of the third Mosaic 
discourse? 

Read Deuteronomy 29:2 to 30:20. 

Observe again how the problem of the regeneration 
of human nature looms up beyond that of legal 
requirements and even of the more moral and non- 
ceremonial legal requirements (29:4, 30:6; compare 
30:11-14). Compare Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Paul 
in the same strain. 1 

If 10. Now read at a sitting or two, or, if your 
Bible is well marked, sketch at a sitting the book of 
Deuteronomy, getting the general drift and character 
of the whole. 

x The remainder of the book of Deuteronomy is his- 
torical and is treated in the "Outline for the Study of 

Old Testament History." 



CHAPTER XII 

TEE PROPEETIC AND PRIESTLY NARRATIVES OF TEE 
OLD TESTAMENT 

§ 37. The Prophetic and Priestly Histories. 

1fl. It would not be amiss, after the study of the 
prophetic sermons and oracles and the priestly law, 
to consider in detail the prophetic history, Genesis 
to 2 Kings, and the priestly history, Chronicles- 
Ezra-Nehemiah. The treatment of these histories 
as a separate study, however, rather than here, is 
desirable, because they are not merely prophetic 
and priestly interpretations, but prophetic and 
priestly interpretations of historical sources that fell 
into the hands of the interpreters.* Sometimes, as 
in Joshua 10:136 and 1 Chronicles 29:29, sources 
are referred to by name, but more frequently they 
are not mentioned. Just as many of the laws embed- 
ded in the priestly literature are civil rather that 
priestly, so, while these histories are priestly and 
prophetic respectively, the simple stories of Saul and 
David, of Gideon and Jephthah and the like, show 
an original source where the chief interest and motive 
is the native love for a good story of the exploits of 
a national hero. 

In the Old Testament, as so far considered, there 

*Compare the author's "Outline for the Study of Old 
Testament History." The prophetic and priestly char- 
acter of the histories is discussed there, especially in 
sections 3, 55, and 84 (pages 12, 13, 126-129, and 191- 
199). 

(172) 



fll] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 173 

are not two, but four, literary types or elements: 
the prophetic and the priestly, flowing out of the 
religious life of Israel; the legal, out of the political 
and judicial life; and what, from the lack of a better 
name, flowing out of the everyday life of the people, 
might be called the folk-literary. Each of these 
rises from a very primitive background. The folk- 
literary at its primitive and impersonal stage is 
called by a term against which, because of its modern 
associations, there is unreasonable prejudice, the 
term "folk-lore." From this more simple form it rises 
to great heights, just as the legal element, touched 
by the prophetic spirit, rises from early tribal custom 
to the humanitarian legislation of Deuteronomy. 
So the priestly system rises from the dark back- 
ground of the human sacrifice, as is shown by the 
case of Jephthah's daughter and by the complaint 
of the Psalmist that his forefathers "mingled them- 
selves with the nations, and learned their works. . . . 
Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters 
unto demons."* The basis for the higher view is 
laid in the story of Abraham's offering of Isaac, 
where the teaching seems to be that while Jehovah 
requires such devotion as would give up an only son 
for his sake, human sacrifice is to be banished from 
Israel. The higher stretches of the priestly ideal 
reach unto the two great commandments of love to 
God and one's neighbor, and unto the deepened 
sense of moral failure and the consciousness of for- 
given sin. There is a far cry, likewise, from the proph- 

*Psalm 106:35-38. 



174 An Outline of Old Testament [§37 

etism of Samuel, -whom Saul consults concerning the 
stray asses (1 Sam. 9:5-10), and from Saul's pro- 
phetic frenzy (1 Sam. 19:23, 24), to the wonderful 
messages of the prophets of the eighth century whose 
books have been studied. 

To return to the folk-literary elements, one might 
compare the way the rude riddle-couplets of Samson's 
primitive feast rise to the beauty of the Song of 
Songs, or the savage boast of Lamech rises to David's 
wonderful dirge over Saul and Jonathan with the 
way the songs of the medieval troubadours rise in 
European literature to the lyrics of Heine and Burns. 

The folk-literary, like the politico-legal, element 
is to be found, with one possible exception, not in 
separate books, but embedded in the other elements. 
No finer specimen of this type is contained in any 
literature than the biographies of Saul and David 
included in the books of Samuel. This folk-literary 
material is taken up by the prophetic writers just 
as the legal material is taken up by the priestly 
interest. It is significant that the Jews called Joshua 
to 2 Kings the "Earlier Prophets," and regarded the 
books of prophetic sermons and oracles as the Later 
Prophets. The chief strain, also, of the historical 
portion of the Pentateuch is undoubtedly of the 
same prophetic nature as Joshua to 2 Kings, though 
there is in it a priestly strain besides. 1 In any case, 
just as Joshua to 2 Kings presents history interpreted 

*Many modern scholars think they can isolate this 
priestly strain, which they assign to a hypothetical au- 
thor or authors under the symbol "P." 



fll] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 175 

from the prophetic standpoint, so a priestly history, 
where the interest centers in Jerusalem and the 
Temple, is found in Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah. 

If 2. Now, with these points in mind and observing 
the prophetic use of the folk-literary elements by 
fitting them into such formulae as Judges 4 : 1-3, 

Read or sketch at a single sitting the book of 
Judges. a 

If 3. Comparing the prophetic and priestly treat- 
ment of similar material, 

Read or sketch at one or two sittings the books 
of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. 

§ 38. The Prophetic and Priestly Books of Personal Nar- 
rative. 

Ifl. The histories just treated contain extended 
personal narratives of Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, 
Gideon, and others, but these personal narratives 
are definite sections of the general history as well as 
integral portions of larger books. The two personal 
narratives studied in the present section form sepa- 
rate books and detail the course of affairs that only 
incidentally, though vitally, affect the main stream 
of history. The one, Esther, tells of a woman who 
saved thousands, perhaps even the vast majority 
of her people, and of a man who, like Joseph and 
Daniel, became prime minister to a foreign emperor. 
There is no hint, however, that Mordecai and Esther 

a-The instructor may insist upon a more or less thor- 
ough reading of the references in this and the following 
paragraph according to the chief purpose and the avail- 
able time of his course. A complete carrying out of the 
suggestion will, however, amply repay the student. 



176 An Outline of Old Testament [§38 

became any such link in the history as did Joseph, 
for example. The other of these personal narrative 
books is Ruth, the story of a woman who was the 
ancestress of David, and, as such, a link in the 
history; but the book that tells her story presents 
interesting phases of her private life, not what she 
did as a public leader. 

These two narratives represent the priestly and 
prophetic tendencies respectively. Esther is not 
merely a story flowing out of the folk-literary life 
of the Hebrews; it is an account of how a new ritual 
feast grew out of an especial deliverance accomplished 
through the willingness of a beautiful woman to 
brave an Oriental monarch and to risk her life for 
her people. This, of course, betrays the priestly 
point of view. In studying Ruth the prophetic 
standpoint will be apparent. Both books are named 
not according to their authors, but for their respec- 
tive heroines. 

H2. Esther. 

Describe: 

(1) The Oriental royal feast that opens the story. 
Read Esther 1:1-8. 

(2) The accompanying harem feast and a queen's 
refusal. 

Read Esther 1:9-12. 

Some scholars think the author means to attribute 
Vashti's refusal to womanish whim and willfulness 
and to represent Esther as better (verse 19) by being 
more subservient to the will of her husband and 
king. Others think it was Vashti's womanly dig- 
nity and modesty that asserted itself in the face 



f[2] Prophecij, Wisdom, and Worship 111 

of a king's demand.* If the latter be the correct 
interpretation of the author's mind, then Esther is, 
like "Vanity Fair," a a story without a hero, but 
with two heroines, the former representing one of 
two basic virtues through which woman makes her 
chief contribution to civilization, the courage of a 
fine refusal, as the latter, Esther, represents the 
other, the willingness to sacrifice herself for others. 

(3) The council of Memucan, a reactionary on 
the question of the relation of wife to husband. 
Noting especially verse 17, 

Read Esther 1:13-22. 

(4) The search for a new queen. 
Read Esther 2:1-18. 

Here the narrative begins an ancient love story. 
Bible readers will remember the love stories of 
Genesis: how Isaac has no voice in the selection of 
his wife and how in the midst of ancient conditions 
a beautiful love-story is possible; and how, though 
Jacob by an accident becomes a hero of a more 
modern type, an Oriental custom interferes and gives 
him Leah instead of Rachel to wife.** The second 
chapter of Esther presents, similarly, a picture 
shocking to moderns, but natural to an Oriental 
court. Some have sought to blame Mordecai for 
sacrificing the virtue of his niece and ward for the 

*Compare especially Talmage's sermon on "The Queen 
Vashti Refused to Come." 

a Mordecai is certainly not more the hero of the story 
than Dobbins in "Vanity Fair." 

**Compare the "Outline for the Study of Old Testa- 
ment History," §7, fflO and §9, H If 2-4. 

12 



178 An Outline of Old Testament [§3S 

sake of his own advancement, but this charge reads 
modern ideals into an ancient situation. He was no 
more exposing Esther than Naomi was exposing 
Ruth in the book next to be considered; both in- 
cidents were natural to the ancient world. Nor is 
there any intimation that Mordecai was violating 
his religious scruples. Rather does Esther's marriage 
to a heathen monarch without any hint of scruple 
indicate that Esther is not the narrow nationalistic 
book a some maintain it to be: that while it does 
glorify the Jews, it has some of the broader spirit 
shown in the marriage of Boaz with Ruth, the 
Moabitess. 

(5) What bit of unrewarded service is mentioned? 
Read Esther 2 : 19-23. 

(6) Haman and Mordecai and the decree on the 
destruction of the Jews. 

Read Esther 3. 

Why did Mordecai not bow? Was it a personal 
whim or excessive pride ? or was it connected with 
his religion, as in Daniel 1:8, 6:5? Does the fact 
that Haman wishes to take vengeance not merely 
on Mordecai or his immediate family but on the 
entire Jewish population indicate that Mordecai 
was expressing a Jewish scruple in his refusal to 
bow? Compare especially verse 8. 

(7) The consternation of the Jews. 
Read Esther 4:1-12. 

aEven Luther thought Esther, like James, unworthy of 
a place in the Canon of Scripture; they both "Judaized" 
too much for him. It should be noted that the Jews 
placed Esther second only to the Law. 



fl2] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 179 

It has been observed that Esther is the only book 
in the Old Testament in which the name of God 
does not appear. The importance of this fact can 
easily be overestimated, though it may have been 
one of the reasons why Esther's place in the Canon 
was so disputed. Perhaps many Christian preachers 
who preached to the same people Sunday after Sun- 
day will sometimes preach whole sermons on special 
themes without the mention of the name of Christ, 
perhaps without naming the name of God. In any 
case Esther, as has been seen, seems to turn upon 
the Jewish religious scruple of refusing to bow, 
The feast of Purim may be a less religious feast than 
the others, and fasting is referred to here (verse 3) 
without specific mention of prayer; but Purim 
entered into the religious calendar of Judaism, and 
Esther asks the Jews to fast, and fasts herself, in 
such a way as to indicate her belief in an objective 
effectiveness of fasting equivalent to that of prayer. 
Observe this in reading the next passage. 

(8) Esther to the rescue. 

Read Esther 4:13-17. 

How far is the assurance of deliverance in verse 
14a and the sense of plan and purpose for the individ- 
ual life in verse 146 equivalent to a doctrine of Divine 
Providence and a practical mention of the name of 
God? Compare Ruth 2 : 3, "her hap was," where the 
whole tenor of the book seems to indicate the author's 
view that God had something to do with the "hap." 
Is Esther or Ruth the more explicit on the doctrine 
of Providence? Consider carefully two points: 
(a) The doctrine of verse 14; and (b) the noble 



ISO An Outline of Old Testament [§38 

self-sacrifice of Esther. Does not the question of 
verse 146 seem to weigh more heavily with her than 
the threat of verse 13? Note particularly the spirit 
of verse 16. Compare \2 (2), above. Is not Esther 
4: 13-16 one of the really great passages of Scripture? 

(9) The sequel. 
Read chapters 5 to 7. 

(a) Compare Esther's method with the way Jo- 
seph postponed making himself known to his breth- 
ren. Why did Esther not speak out her request 
at once? 

(6) How realistic a touch is chapter 6! Medi- 
tate on it. Why do Hainan's "wise men" and his 
wife make the statement of verse 13? How does 
it differ in purport from the dream of Pilate's wife, 
and from the faith of Psalm 73: 1 and Isaiah 29: 5-8, 
for example? 

(c) What was the fate of Haman? Compare 
the proverbial expression to "hang as high as 
Haman": this fate of Haman becomes almost as 
typical and classic a case of "poetic justice" as Daniel 
is of moral courage and conquering faith. 

(10) The counter decree and the outcome, 
Read Esther 8:1 to 9:19. 

Esther 8:11 and 9:12, 13 are frequently cited as 
showing the cruel narrowness of the book. One 
should remember the age in which it was written 
(compare even the beautiful one hundred and thirty- 
seventh Psalm) and how oppressed and hated the 
Jews were at times. Just as there is an "insolence 
of health" that fails to appreciate the viewpoint of 
sick folk, so there is an insolence of peace that does 



jf 3] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 18 i. 

not comprehend the meaning of war and captivity 
with their cruelties and oppressions. Many a mod- 
ern Belgian and Serbian can understand the general 
feeling of the Jews of Esther's day. Compare the 
book of Nahum (§28, H5 (d) ). One should judge 
in the light of the entire situation. 

Note the refrain concerning "The spoil." Re- 
call the last clause of Esther 3 : 13. 

(11) The new feast. 
Read Esther 9:20-32. 

Characteristically the beautiful story of Esther 
is told, not for the sake of its beauty as a story, but 
to serve a more practical end. Compare §31, 1fl: 
This paragraph should be reread at this point. 

(12) The new premier. 
Referring again to 8:15-17, 
Read Esther 10. 

Compare Joseph and Daniel. What was the key- 
note of Mordecai's life work (verse 3)? 
1(3. Ruth. 
(1) Cooke says: 

The ancient narratives of the book of Judges carry us 
back to a half-barbarous age of struggle and disorder, 
memorable chiefly for the deeds of Israel's heroes; the 
book of Ruth, although the scene is laid in the same age, 
gives us a very different picture. It introduces us to the 
peaceful life of the home and of the village, with its sor- 
rows and joys, its wholesome industry and kindly virtues; 
a life which is by no means barren of heroic qualities, 
but they take the form of unselfish affection and gener- 
osity and loyalty to the ties of the kindred; a simple com- 
munity, tenacious of long-established customs, and pene- 
trated throughout by a spirit of unaffected piety.* 

*Cooke, The Cambridge Bible, "Ruth," page xi. 



182 An Outline of Old Testament [§38 

The recent study of Judges should help the student 
to appreciate this contrast between Ruth and Judges 
as well as the similarity of the prophetic point of 
view in the two books. 

There is also an instructive contrast between 
Ruth and Esther. One is the love story of an ancient 
royal court; the other, a love story of quiet village 
life. The one reflects the priestly, the other the 
prophetic, point of view. In the one a Jewish woman 
saves her people and brings destruction upon their 
foes; in the other a foreign Moabitess woman be- 
comes a mother in Israel. One loves Ruth, so simple, 
unaffected, and affectionate is she, though Esther 
is perhaps the nobler woman, with her offering of 
herself for her people. 

(2) A Jewish migration that came to a sad end. 
Read Ruth 1:1-5. 

Possibly the author intended in this terse sum- 
mary of sorrow to win his readers, much in the 
same way that Amos did (§1, If 2 (1) ) by stating facts 
that would appeal to their prejudices. A Hebrew 
who forsook his own land, they thought, showed a 
lack of faith in Jehovah; and early death and the 
extinction of his house were his just deserts. Com- 
pare verse 20. It will soon appear how far beyond 
these prejudices the later events lead. 

(3) As the story of Esther turns upon the marriage 
customs of the court, so that of Ruth turns upon 
another ancient ideal, the levirate marriage. 

Read Ruth 1:6-13 and compare §36, 116 (c) and 
the Biblical reference to this subject there given. 



If 3] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 183 

(4) An unbounded affection comparable to the 
friendship of David and Jonathan. 

Read Ruth 1:14-22. 

Consider the implication that a foreigner may be 
loved into a devotion to Israel's God. Observe the 
natural touch of verse 19. 

(5) Taking up the new life. Noting the beautiful 
ancient background and the acquaintance that in 
any age might ripen into love and marriage, 

Read Ruth 2. 

(6) Naomi, like Mordecai, seeks to perform a 
guardian's part by her ward. Keeping in mind the 
ancient ideals and customs, and comparing Jacob 
(Gen. 29:1-30) and Esther,* 

Read Ruth 3:1 to 4:10. 

There is hardly any more charming narrative in 
literature than this of Ruth. 

(7) The modern love story ends at the altar with 
"they lived happily ever after"; the ancient love- 
story ended at the cradle. Noting the wish of the 
people in the gate, and the beautiful scene at the 
birth of the child, 

Read Ruth 4:ll-17a. 

The ideal of a life-companionship of man and 
woman "when they love their best" is a higher one 
than the ideal of race propagation as the only pur- 
pose of marriage. The most recent turn of modern 
social ideals, however, tends properly, not to destroy 
the individualism gained, but to restore alongside 
it the ideals of the ancient time. 

♦Compare the "Outline for the Study of Old Testament 
History," § 9, tffl 2-4. 



184 An Outline of the Old Testament [§38 

(8) The ancestress of David. 

Read Ruth 4:176-22. 

Some think the book of Ruth was written as a 
protest against the wholesale divorcement of foreign 
wives following Ezra and Nehemiah, or at least 
that it was preserved for that purpose, to show how 
a Moabitess having been loved into the fellowship 
of Israel's religion became the ancestress of David. 
Compare the didactic purpose of the book of Jonah. 
Others feel that the story of Ruth is told too simply 
and beautifully to hide any such controversial aim. 
In any case the book reflects the prophetic spirit and 
piety and the prophetic outlook beyond the circles 
of a narrow nationalism. 

If 4. Now, with all the points of this section in 
mind, comparing the two books, getting the beauty, 
purpose, and message of each, 

Read at a sitting the books of Esther and Ruth. 



CHAPTER XIII 

TYPES OF LITERATURE JN THE OLD TESTAMENT 
§ 39. Types of Literature in the Old Testament. 

H 1. There are several different methods of study- 
ing the Old Testament and several different orders 
in which the various books may be considered. 
The most obvious one takes the books in the order 
in which they come in the English versions. It 
must be remembered, however, that this order does 
not correspond to the order of the original Hebrew, 
which, as regards the larger groupings, observes 
the order in which the successive collections of books 
became canonized, or recognized as Scripture. As 
has been seen, the law, or the five Mosaic books, 
came first; then the prophets, including the Earlier 
Prophets, or the historical books from Joshua to 2 
Kings, and the Later Prophets, considered as four 
books, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve, 
The third group, or canon, is more miscellaneous, 
and is called simply "The Writings" or "The Other 
Writings" of the Hagiographa, from the Greek 
words meaning "holy writings." But the order of 
the Jewish collection and canonization is not neces- 
sarily the best order for Christian study. Judaism 
was a religion of law, and the legal elements break 
into the historical movement recorded in Genesis 
to 2 Kings. The best arrangement when the Law 
was the entire Bible is not the best, therefore, when 
the canon of the prophets is added. Within the canon 
of the prophets, because of the size of the ancient 

(185) 



186 An Outline of Old Testament [§39 

rolls or books, "The Twelve" became quite a miscel- 
laneous group, earlier and later prophets being grouped 
together in spite of the fact that the great three, 
Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, intervene. More mis- 
cellaneous still is the third canon, the Hagiographa, 
and in the various editions of the Hebrew Bible the 
order of books in this canon varies widely.* Chroni- 
cles, which in the standard Hebrew Bible is the last 
book of all, has its affinities either with the other 
histories (and is so placed in the English version) 
or with the priestly element. The English version 
improves on the Hebrew order further in placing 
Daniel among the prophets; but it can hardly be 
regarded as an improvement to put the Psalms 
between Job and Proverbs and to place the five 
"Megilloth," or liturgical rolls — the Song of Songs, 
Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther — 
where the English version places them. Besides, it 
does not go far enough in logical rearrangement, 
though for the Christian student it moves in the 
right direction. 

The method usually adopted by recent scholars 
is the classification of the Old Testament literature 
into three main types or elements: the prophetic, 
the priestly, and the wisdom. This classification 
has been adopted with some modifications. The 
treatment of the usual modern classification in the 
two volumes of the present study is a concession to 

*A most convenient brief statement of the order of 
books in the various Hebrew and Greek Codices and Edi- 
tions is given by Paton in the International Critical Com- 
mentary, "Esther," pages 1-5. 



ff2] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 187 

the other of the two most logical lines of division 
of Old Testament literature, that according to the 
type or literary form of the book rather than accord- 
ing to the type of leadership represented by the 
authorship. The Old Testament literature under 
this scheme may, counting the cross classifications, be 
divided as follows: 

(a) History: Genesis to Esther in large measure. 
History is also included in certain Psalms, prophecies, 
etc. 

(b) Personal narratives and biography: this is 
largely a subdivision of the first class. 

(c) Prophetic oracles and sermons: Isaiah to 
Malachi. A special aspect of this type of literature 
is the apocalyptic. 

(d) Legal codes and priestly prescriptions: con- 
tained in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuter- 
onomy, and in a few passages elsewhere. 

(e) Sayings, or proverbs, and parables: largely 
collected in the book of Proverbs, though many are 
scattered throughout the Old Testament. 

(/) Philosophy, found not only in the wisdom 
literature, but even more prominently in the pro- 
phetic writings. 

(g) Poetry. 

1f 2. Poetry in the Old Testament. 

In the classifications of the preceding paragraph 
cross classifications have been allowed for, and it is 
to be expected, therefore, that the Old Testament 
poetry should contain not only prophetic, priestly, 
and wisdom points of view, but also historical and 



1S8 An Outline of Old Testament [§39 

philosophical emphases and proverbial and parabolic 
forms. 

The broadest division of literature is poetry and 
prose. One recalls how Monsieur Jourdain, in 
Moliere's "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme,"* awoke 
suddenly to the realization of the fact that he had 
been talking prose all his life; but one must not 
think that all prose or all poetry is the same in de- 
gree, or that hard and sharp lines are any more 
possible here than elsewhere in nature and life. A 
table of statistics may be placed at one end and songs 
without words at the other end of the scale of rhythm: 
in between will range all the various types of speech 
and writing. Passing from statistics into chronicles, 
thence into the best narratives, one finds rhythmic 
prose appearing. Farther along still is the prose 
essay of a Stevenson or Ruskin, or rhythmic oratory, 
especially that of the Greeks. a Thence the scale 

*Act II., Scene VI., in Delbos' School Edition and oth- 
ers. Act II., Scene IV., in "Les Grand Ecrivains de la 
France" Edition and others. 

a Note the tendency of speakers to singsong and of 
ritual toward the chant. There is a rhythmic swing in 
the whole of Hayne's speech in the Senate, for example, 
and in Webster's more high-sounding periods when he 
leaves his logical arguments. Lincoln's Gettysburg ad- 
dress has been arranged more or less successfully into 
verse lines. Of the Biblical material, Bernhard Duhm in 
the article on "Poetical Literature," in the Encyclopedia 
Biblica (§ 2 (in.), column 3794 f.) says: "We are conse- 
quently often in doubt where prose passes into metrical 
poetry, and one commentator will find clearly marked 
verses and strophes where another will find plain prose, or 
at best poetical style. Almost the whole of the prophetic 



J[2] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 180 

passes into didactic and ballad poetry, if indeed 
these are more rhythmical than the best prose; 
thence into pure lyric and the mystic music that no 
words can utter or accompany. 

The bulk of the Old Testament poetry is either 
lyric or didactic. Several elegies occur; the pure 
ballad is not frequent. The book of Job is by some 
considered dramatic; by others, epic: it is certainly 
difficult to classify. Some maintain that these are 
Greek terms and distinctions and cannot be applied 
to Hebrew poetry; but certainly the main types are 
similar and references to them will be made in the 
study of specific poems. 

A cursory treatment of Hebrew poetry is found in 
the "Outline for the Study of Old Testament His- 
tory,"* necessary there in order to understand the 
random poems embedded in narrative: but now that 
the poetical books are to be considered, a more 
adequate view of Hebrew poetry is demanded. 

The best starting point for such a consideration 
of the form of Hebrew poetry is in a review of some 
facts concerning English verse. English rhythm 
is based on the length and number of syllables to 
the line and on the matching of the lines with one 
another, frequently abetted through rhythm. Ten- 
nyson's poem, 

Break, break, break, 

On thy cold gray stones, O Sea! 



literature is involved at the present time in this am- 
biguity." 

*Pages 45-47, 



190 An Outline of Old Testament [§30 

is obviously trimeter — that is, it has three meters 
or measures to the line. Longfellow's "Evangeline" 
is a hexameter (six measures) : 

Men whose lives glided on like rivers that water the wood- 
lands, 

Darkened by shadows of earth, but reflecting an image of 
heaven. 

An examination of English verse will show not only 
the several meters, but also how each meter, trimeter, 
tetrameter, etc., is further varied by the length and 
number of the syllables to the measure. 

Likewise the use of rhyme varies. Sometimes 
rhyme occurs at the end of every line, as in Whittier's 

hymn, 

It may not be our lot to wield 
The sickle in the ripened field. 

More usual is the rhyming of alternating lines, as 
in Gray's "Elegy": 

The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, 
The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea, 

The plowman homeward plods his weary way 
And leaves the world to darkness and to me. 

Not infrequently the first and third lines do not 
rhyme, the rhyming of the second and fourth being 
sufficient for the poetic effect. An interesting vari- 
ation from the ordinary forms is that most familiar 
through Tennyson's "In Memoriam," where the 
first line rhymes with the fourth and the second with 
the third. It combines the longer character of the 
"Elegy" versification with the form found in Whit- 
tier's hymn: 



f[2] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 191 

Strong Son of God, immortal Love, 

Whom we, that have not seen thy face, 
By faith, and faith alone, embrace, 

Believing where we cannot prove. 

A still more complicated combination of simple 
forms into a complex one is found in one of the na- 
tional hymns, 

My country, 'tis of thee, 
Sweet land of liberty, 

Of thee I sing: 
Land where my fathers died, 
Land of the settler's* pride, 
From every mountain side 

Let freedom ring. 

Here the first two lines rhyme and a third follows 
swinging in midair, which gives an attractive varia- 
tion. Then three instead of two rhyming lines 
succeed, followed by another odd line that rhymes 
with line three and gives balance to the whole. 

It is necessary to recall, further, that the highest 
and best English verse as well as the stately poetry 
of the Greeks and of other peoples does not employ 
rhyme at all, but secures the balance of lines in 
some other way. Rhyme is therefore only one of 
a number of devices of form that poetry may use. 

apeeling that the word "pilgrims' " here makes the 
song too provincial and that Van Dyke's or other addi- 
tions will never gain adequate acceptance, this amend- 
ment is suggested. Since this note was written an arti- 
cle by Dr. Sam Steel appeared in the Texas Christian Ad- 
vocate of February 20, 1919, suggesting the word "pa- 
triot's" in the place of "pilgrims'," which is perhaps an 
even better substitution. 



192 An Outline of Old Testament [§39 

Compare Bryant's "Thanatopsis, ' ' or Milton's 
"Paradise Lost/' which begins, 

Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit 
Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste 
Brought death into the world, and all our woe, 
With loss of Eden, till one greater Man 
Restore us, and regain the blissful seat, 
Sing, heavenly Muse. 

A current movement deals more freely with the 
devices and forms of poetry: this movement is called 
free verse, and flows out of the work of Walt Whit- 
man. 

Because of these variations in verse form and vari- 
ations still more wide, when one considers and com- 
pares the poetry of other peoples, the question forces 
itself forward as to just what it is that under these 
varying forms constitutes the essence of poetry. 
"The best point of approach to the question is to go 
back of the effects to the cause. Poetry is the result 
of man's effort to get above the commonplace and 
to find fitting expression for his higher thoughts and 
finer feelings."* One recalls Matthew Arnold's in- 
sistence that poetry is "a criticism of life" and "the 
most perfect speech of man," and, following Words- 
worth and Aristotle respectively, that it is "the 
breath and fine spirit of all knowledge," and that 
its superiority over history "consists in its possessing 

*The author owes this statement to his colleague, Prof. 
John H. McGinnis, of the English Department of South- 
ern Methodist University. The thesis is worked out in 
an, unhappily, unpublished lecture. 



1J2] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 193 

higher truth and higher seriousness/'* Poetry then 
is "elevated thought and feeling/' and the forms it 
takes in various races and climes and ages may not 
be indifferent, may even be natural and necessary, 
yet they are altogether secondary. 

Now the principles of Hebrew poetry are the same 
as those of the Indo-European nations, but the 
methods of attaining rhythmic and suspense effects — 
that is, the verse forms — are vastly different. The 
meter seems to be determined, not by the length 
and number of syllables, but by line-accents or beats. 
Toy has suggested the terms bimary, termary, and 
the like, instead of dimeter, trimeter, etc., to describe 
Hebrew meters. Some deny even the existence of 
Hebrew meter, but certainly there could hardly be 
any sort of a rhythm without some reference to the 
length of the lines and even the parts of longer lines. 
Line accentuation is necessary as an aid even to the 
Greek and Latin as well as the English measures. 

More significant in Hebrew poetry is the balancing 
effect produced by the synonymous parallelism simi- 
lar to that derived from the modern rhyme. It is 
formed by repeating in a second line substantially 
the thought of the first: 

The heavens declare the glory of God, 
And the firmament showeth his handiwork. 

Here the words "heavens" and "firmament" mean 
the same thing, and the ideas of declaring and show- 
ing are parallel, while "glory" is interestingly implied 

*Matthew Arnold, "Essays on Criticism"; Second Se- 
ries, pages 128, 5, 3, 21. 
13 



194 An Outline of Old Testament [§39 

from the first line into the word "handiwork" of the 
second. Kautzsch in a little book, unfortunately 
not available in English, explains the similarity be- 
tween ancient parallelism and the modern form as 
follows: "Indeed, its working rests upon exactly the 
same basis upon which the working of rhyme rests. 
It is the magic spell of the incessant, newly awakened 
expectation and the suspense called forth by it on 
the one hand, and on the other the equally incessant 
and, to either hearer or reader, decidedly satisfying 
allaying of that suspense. . . . We know and feel 
that it must come, and are yet in an agreeable sus- 
pense until it does come."* 

Kautzsch further illustrates by adapting Goethe's 
couplet, 

Scarce has one sentence met the ear 
Another comes, to caress the first.** 

George Adam Smith calls attention to the fact 
that parallelism is not confined to Hebrew poetry, 
but urges that it is not only prevalent in Babylonia 
and in some forms of Egyptian and Arabic poetry, 
but that "parallelism, in its many varied forms, 
appears in all poetries from their most primitive 
stage."** * More striking than the examples he cites 
from modern authors is the use of parallelism in 

*"Die Poesie und die poetischen Bucher des Alten Tes- 
tament," page 5. 

**Book cited, page 7. Goethe has "word" referring to 
the rhyme; Kautzsch says, in effect, substitute "sentence" 
and you have the philosophy of parallelism, in the same 
terms as Goethe's philosophy of rhyme. 

***"The Early Poetry of Israel," Schweich Lectures for 
1910, pages 14-17. 



fl2] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 195 

Poe's "Raven," "The Bells," and "Anabel Lee," 
and in Sidney Lanier's "Sunrise" and "A Ballad of 
Trees and the Master." 

Just as the ordinary forms of rhyme and meter 
develop into more complicated forms or pass over 
into blank verse, so does parallelism go beyond itself. 
Most natural is the so-called antithetic parallelism, 
which is rather the antithesis of parallelism, where 
the second member states a truth antithetical to 
the first: 

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken; 

But the Lord upholdeth the righteous. (Ps. 37:17.) 

A still greater departure amounting to a passing 
from rhyme to blank verse is the so-called synthetic 
parallelism, where the second member fulfills the 
condition or thought of the first: 

As the hart panteth after the water brooks, 

So panteth my soul after thee, O Lord. (Ps. 42:1.) 

Although the synthetic parallelism certainly and 
the antithetic probably are not properly parallelisms, 
it will be best to keep the traditional terms and 
to call parallelism proper by the fuller name of 
"synonymous parallelism." 

Some of the various combinations of these several 
forms will be noted in connection with the treatment 
of the poems themselves, or may be found catalogued 
and treated in the works on Hebrew poetry.* 

One must keep in mind, however, that the Semitic 
peoples developed these verse forms and employ 

♦Compare especially Briggs, The International Critical 
Commentary, "The Psalms," Vol. I., pages xxxiv.-xlviii. 



196 An Outline of the Old Testament [§39 

them as mere instruments to communicate their 
' 'higher thoughts and finer feelings'' to the open 
mind and heart. Do not lose the spirit of the mar- 
velous poetry of the Old Testament in considering 
the forms. This injunction is less important in 
the study of the didactic and less elevated poetry 
of the Proverbs, but is absolutely necessary in con- 
sidering the higher poetry of Job, the Song of Songs, 
and the Psalms. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE WISDOM BOOKS: PROVERBS 

§ 40. The First Section of the Book of Proverbs. 

Proberbs 1 to 9. 

Ifl. What is the ideal of the wise man as given 
in the introductory poem? 

Read Proberbs 1:1-6. 

Verses 2, 4, and 5 are plainly synonymous par- 
allelisms. In verse 4, "The simple" means "The 
immature," and is practically synonymous, there- 
fore, with "The young man." Verses 3 and 6 are 
a slight departure from the synonymous parallelism, 
toward the synthetic. The meter — that is, the 
length and accentuation of the lines — keeps the 
poetic character intact. The parallelism in verse 3 
indicates, though the couplet is almost synthetic in 
form, that "the wise dealing" referred to is not 
shrewdness, but the wisdom of doing right. 

The poem appeals to two classes, the immature 
and the wise: as the one needs to begin, the other 
needs to continue assiduously the study of wisdom. 

If 2. The motto or text of Hebrew wisdom. 

Read Proverbs 1 : 7. 

Note the margin -translation: "Chief part" is 
possibly a better rendering than "beginning."* 

a The word is reshith, the same word, less the preposi- 
tion, as the first word of the Old Testament, Genesis 1:1. 
Ben Sira in his first chapter seems to interpret the word here 
as "beginning," since he uses dpxri, and goes on to refer 
to the fear of the Lord as being also "the fullness," "the 
crown," "the root," and even the entirety of wisdom. 

(197) 



198 An Outline of Old Testament [§40 

Compare the way the English word "first" some- 
times means first in point of time, sometimes first 
in importance. 

The orthodox Hebrew wise man identifies wisdom 
and the fear of the Lord: this is his philosophy of 
life, and ultimately his reconciliation of Greek and 
Hebrew thought. 

Note that the parallelism is antithetic. Hereafter 
only certain more significant poetic forms will be 
specifically mentioned, but it will be well for the 
student now and then to pause and classify the 
various forms. 

1f3. A short didactic poem of warning against 
temptations to violence and robbery. 

Read Proverbs 1 : 8-19. 

The first two verses constitute the introduction, 
the next verse gives the general warning against the 
enticement of sinners. Note that the remainder of 
the poem explains what specific sort of sin and en- 
ticement the poem has in mind. 

Observe in verses 18 and 19 that the evil conduct 
is not condemned as being rebellion against God as 
a prophet might designate it, but as being "unwise." 
This is the point of view of the wisdom literature, 
and is not an attitude to be despised. It is some- 
times said that the modern world needs a revival of 
a sense of the sinfulness of sin. This is true, but it 
does not need to exclude the idea that sin is also 
stupid. Jesus uses both conceptions. When the 
prodigal returns, he does not say, "I have played the 
fool," though that was the thought that made him 
first think of turning homeward; he says rather, "I 



If 3] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 199 

have sinned against God and thee, and I am no more 
worthy." But on another occasion Jesus describes 
a rich man who built larger barns to store his abun- 
dant crops. The man was certainly selfish and un- 
social, yet God does not say to him, "Thou scoun- 
drel, thou sinner, thou shouldst have thought of others 
or have given to the poor." God says rather, "Thou 
fool, thou hast a false view of security and certainty 
concerning life." Compare also the parable of the 
talents, where one servant was "good and faithful," 
another "wicked and slothful," with the closing 
parable of the Sermon on the Mount where one man 
is "wise" and another "foolish." Compare §9, If 2 
and §10, 1[4 (2). 

The prophets as well as Jesus were influenced by 
the wisdom ideal. Harper* even thinks that the 
mark distinguishing Amos from the older ecstatic 
prophets is the influx of a common-sense wisdom 
viewpoint. Nevertheless, the prophetic emphasis 
is always on the rebelliousness and heinousness, not 
on the unwisdom, of sin. Though the old-time Meth- 
odist and Calvinistic preachers sounded the warning 
that hell is the punishment awaiting sinners, yet 
their emphasis was not "You are foolish to take such 
a risk," but "You deserve to go there because you 
have sinned against a holy God." It was the pro- 
phetic standpoint that they were reflecting.- 

The wisdom literature likewise shows the influence 
of the prophetic and priestly conceptions in maintain- 
ing the fear of the Lord and urging trust in him. 

♦International Critical Commentary, "Amos," page civ. 



200 An Outline of Old Testament [§40 

Notwithstanding this, they look at sin rather from 
the standpoint of its unwisdom, its foolishness, and 
not less insistently do they point out the wisdom 
rather that the duty of doing right. 

Keep this distinction in mind in your study of the 
wisdom books. 

1f4. Wisdom's rejected appeal. 

Read Proverbs 1 : 20-33. 

Three words — the "simple," the "fool," and the 
"scoffer" or "scorner" — represent the wise man's 
antipathies. The first means usually merely the 
immature; the other two words sometimes seem 
quite synonymous; sometimes the scoffer seems to 
indicate a far worse character than the fool and is 
condemned with even a prophetic zest and tinge of 
feeling. 

Verse 22 has three instead of two parallel lines: 
compare the last part of the verse of "My country, 
'tis of thee" (page 191). Verse 21 contains probably 
only two parallel lines, if written properly. Note 
that in verse 29, according to the principle of paral- 
lelism, "Knowledge" and "The fear of Jehovah" 
seem to be regarded as quite identical. Compare 
Hosea's emphasis on knowledge, particularly Hosea 
4:1 and 6. 

If 5. Wisdom, the deliverer of its devotees. 

Read Proverbs 2. 

The gist of the poem is that wisdom leads to 
Jehovah, and Jehovah gives wisdom which delivers 
its possessor from the two great enemies of the would- 
be wise man: the evil man and the strange woman. 

With verses 21 and 22 compare 14:34. These 



ft 9] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 201 

passages express in its classic form the wisdom 
statement of the prophetic philosophy of history. 

If 6. (1) Trust in Jehovah is set forth as the high- 
est wisdom in a beautiful little poem less didactic 
in style and warmer in feeling than most wisdom 
poems. The hands are the hands of wisdom, but 
the voice is the voice of prophetism: 

Read Proverbs 3:1-12. 

On the interplay of influence between prophetism 
and wisdom see If 3. 

(2) Trust in Jehovah normally brings God's care 
and personal prosperity (Prov. 3:6 and 10); but 
there is another side. It does not always seem to do 
so; therefore 

Reread Proverbs 3:11 and 12. 

This is a constant tenet of Hebrew wisdom, a 
deeper philosophy of life than the older and bolder 
ideas. 

If 7. The value and power of wisdom — another 
beautiful poem: 

Read Proverbs 3:13-26. 

Note especially verse 19. 

% 8. Be kind to neighbors, and envy not the wicked. 

Read Proverbs 3:27-35. 

If 9. Of the next passage Martin says: 

Here is a tender personal passage, throwing a light on 
the early days of the teacher. It gives us a beautiful pic- 
ture of the pious household. . . . The passage has 
almost certainly had great influence upon later genera- 
tions, and formed a model for many homes in Puritan 
England and the Scotland of the Covenant. (Cf. Burns, 
"Cotter's Saturday Night.")* 

*The New Century Bible, "Proverbs," etc., page 44. 



202 An Outline of Old Testament [§40 

Read Proverbs 4: 1-9. 

1fl0. Two other poems similar, if less tender, in 
tone. 

Read Proverbs 4: 10-27. 

If 11. The danger of the strange woman is one of 
the constant themes of the wise man. She has been 
referred to in a previous passage. Note here the 
vivid descriptions, the searching questions, and the 
terse sayings. 

Read Proverbs 5: 1-23, 6: 20 to 7: 27. 

Just as the contrast between the spirit of proph- 
etism and that of wisdom becomes quite obvious in 
their respective attitudes toward violence and rob- 
bery, so the contrast between the wisdom and priestly 
viewpoints is clearly illustrated in their respective 
attitudes toward sexual sin. What is the reason 
given in the present passage for avoidance of the sin 
of adultery? Compare Leviticus 18:20, 24, and 25 
and 19:2. The priestly standards see in adultery 
defilement and uncleanness; the wisdom ideal regards 
it as the road to ruin, as foolish and stupid, a sacri- 
fice of permanent good to momentary temptation. 
Keep these three attitudes toward wrongdoing in 
mind in your further study. 

1fl2. While the wisdom of doing right is the great 
theme of this literature, the wise man by no means 
ignores worldly prudence and particularly enjoins the 
virtues of industry and thrift. Noting specifically 
verse 6, 

Read Proverbs 6:1-11. 

1[ 13. The next passage is in a more strictly ethical 
strain. 



fl] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 203 

Read Proverbs 6:12-19. 

If 14. The glory and the work of wisdom. Com- 
paring 3:19 and taking note of the personified wis- 
dom as the companion of Jehovah before the earth 
was, 

Read Proverbs 8:1 to 9:6. 

The praise of wisdom is a never-ending theme of 
the Hebrew wise man. Compare the apocryphal 
books, "The Wisdom of Jesus ben-Sira, or Ecclesias- 
ticus," and the so-called "Wisdom of Solomon." 

Proverbs 8:36 gives the gist of the whole wisdom 
creed. 

IT 15. Noting how verse 9, according to the princi- 
ple of parallelism, makes the phrases "wise man" 
and "righteous man" synonymous and how verse 16 
seems to contrast the simple or immature and un- 
taught man who yields to the temptress with the 
one who in verse 4 turns into wisdom's house, 

Read Proverbs 9:7-18. 

§ 41. The Remainder of Proverbs. 

Proverbs 10 to 31. 

Ifl. The several divisions and division headings of 
Proverbs. 

(1) Read Proverbs 10:1a. 

This heading seems to mean either that some of 
the poems of the previous section were not Solo- 
mon's and that the caption in 1 : 1 applies only to a 
part of this section; or else merely that there is 
more than one collection of Solomonic proverbs in 
the book. 

(2) Read 25: 1, a special group of Solomonic prov- 



204 An Outline of Old Testament [§41 

erbs, and 30:1, 31:1, which introduce proverbs 
attributed to others than Solomon. Some scholars 
think that 24:23 introduces a short section (verses 
23-34) likewise not attributed to Solomon but to 
anonymous wise men, while some see a similar 
section in 22:17 to 24:22. This latter, it is pointed 
out, begins not with "Incline thine ear, and hear the 
words of Solomon," but "Incline thine ear, and hear 
the words of the wise." In any case, it will be well 
to treat Proverbs 10:1 to 22:16 separately, as this 
is quite a long passage anyway, and such a pro- 
cedure will afford an opportunity to compare it with 
the supposed short section, 22:17 to 24:22. 

<i[2. Read Proverbs 10. 

Observe that instead of more or less extended 
poems on a single theme this chapter presents a 
group of sayings having little continuity, even where 
several proverbs on the same subject occur together. 
Note also that while the parallelisms in the previous 
section were predominantly synonymous these are 
usually antithetic. 

There is quite a variety of topics treated in the 
chapter. Wise and foolish speech, the results of right- 
living and of wickedness, industry, and Jehovah's 
protection of the righteous, are handled more than 
once. Some of the sayings are very shrewd and 
striking (compare particularly verses 16 and 24): 
they flow out of a wise and thoughtful observation 
of life. 

If 3. It is impossible in a course of this character 
to take up each verse of this section of the book of 
Proverbs. Though a number of sayings appear on 



P] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 205 

various other topics, they group themselves largely 
around a dozen themes. These are: the results of 
righteousness or moral wisdom in prosperity and in 
obtaining the Divine approval; the sins of the tongue 
— lack of control of speech and lying and false 
witness; the value of reproof and correction; in- 
dustry and thrift; the relation of son and parent; 
charitable and just doings; anger and contention; 
pride; suretyship; riches, their value and their 
limitations; kings; woman. It is a very instructive 
proceeding to mark in some distinctive way the 
sayings on each of these topics. If one has a half- 
dozen colored pencils and underscores topic number 
one, say with a straight red line, number two with 
a wave line in red, number three with a straight 
blue line, number four with a wave line in blue, and 
so on for all the colors, 1 a mere glance will indicate 
the predominant emphasis and a little study will 
determine the exact treatment of each theme. Of 
course, there will be some cases of doubt and some 

Another method is to mark perpendicular straight 
lines on the left for topic number one, in the middle for 
number two, on the right for number three; then to use 
the wave line similarly; then the slanting lines from left 
top to right bottom and vice versa, etc. In this way one 
can get a sufficient number of different markings with 
the use of only pencil and ink. This method is frequent- 
ly valuable for cross classifications after the other sys- 
tem has been used. One might also mark, say with an 
"x" in the margin, the passages that seem most striking 
or that treat other topics of importance. A wise student 
will learn to adapt and modify any system to fit the de- 
mands of his own mind. 



206 An Outline of Old Testament [§41 

differences of opinion about particular verses, and 
some will seem to fit more than one of the topics. 
These considerations, however, rather enhance than 
destroy the value of the exercise. A reading of the 
unmarked passages will show further the variety 
of the topics discussed. 

Now, following this plan, at least with some of 
the topics, 

Read Proverbs 10:1 to 22:16. 

Not less instructive than the topics treated in the 
book of Proverbs are those omitted or lightly touched. 
There seems to be no specific statement in the section 
on the virtue of courage, and exhortations on self- 
control seem confined to questions of anger and the 
tongue. Only two sayings on friendship appear. 
Contrast the prominence of these virtues in Greek 
thought. Pertinent also is the fact that only a few 
references are made to the ritual and to sacrifice. 
Compare 15:8, 16:6, 20:25, and 21:3 and 27. The 
danger of sexual immorality, too, holds no such 
place in this section as in the preceding one; but note 
22:14. 

Self-sacrifice does not seem to have a place — must 
not one go beyond the wisdom point of view to find 
a ground for sacrificing one's self? The virtue of 
cheerfulness appears in several sayings, as do the 
glory of old age, the danger of wine, and the fact of 
God's all-seeing eye. 

What other observations have you to make on the 
section? Compare the ethics of the Proverbs with 
that of the prophets as you remember it and with 
that of the Holiness Code (§34, If 5). 



fl4] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 207 

Observe the individualistic, universalistic, and 
non-nationalistic temper of the Hebrew sage. 
1[4. Proverbs 22:17 to 31:31. 

(1) Proverbs 22:17 to 24:22. 

(a) Noting the expression, "The words of the 
wise" (compare Ifl), the change to the first person, 
and what seems to some scholars a sectional intro- 
duction similar to 1:2-6, 

Read Proverbs 22:17-21. 

(6) The section is quite similar in tone to the pre- 
ceding one. To be noted are: the frequency of a 
connected saying running through two verses, and 
the emphasis on the limitations of riches and on the 
evils of drink (23:20, 21 and 29:35). 

Read Proverbs 22:22 to 24:22. 

Consider the combination of sad experience with 
triumphant faith in 24:16. A great motto of Ben- 
jamin Franklin's was 22:29. 

(2) Several "sayings of the wise" and the parable 
of the sluggard's vineyard. 

Read Proverbs 24:23-34. 

(3) Proverbs 25 to 29. 

In this passage, observe: the collection of sayings 
on kings opening the section; and that on fools in 
26:1-12 (the causeless curse being presumably one 
of his products); that on the sluggard in 26:13-16; 
the somewhat more connected discourse on "the 
whisperer" in 26:22-26; the rather greater emphasis 
upon humility in this section, particularly in 25:6 
and 7, which may have suggested to Jesus his par- 
able of similar import. With these points in mind, 

Read Proverbs 25 to 29. 



208 An Outline of Old Testament [§41 

Compare 25:21 and 22 with the last part of Ro- 
mans 12, and 27:1 with Matthew 6:34, Luke 12:20, 
James 4: 13 and 14. In 26. 17-21 the verses are with- 
out logical connection, but a word or idea in one 
proverb seems by a purely rote-memory association 
of ideas to suggest the succeeding proverb. 

Among the more familiar and significant sayings 
are 28:1 and 29:1. An unusual note in the book is 
28:13. 

(4) The oracle of Agur. 

The first portion of this chapter is difficult of 
interpretation and the student must be referred to 
the commentaries. The most of the remainder is 
taken up with a series of sayings in numerical group- 
ings. 8 The most familiar and popular passages are 
the prayer of verse 8 and the "four little things" of 
verses 24-28. The moral outlook of the chapter is 
not unlike that of other sections of the book, though 
the interest shown in the topics chosen is quite 
different. 

Read Proverbs 30. 

(5) The oracle of the mother of King Lemuel. 
The opening passage is largely on kings and their 

temptation to wine and women, and closes with an 
exhortation to righteous and humane rule. The 
remainder of the chapter portrays the ideal woman 
in the estimation of the ancient wise man. 
Read Proverbs 31. 

a Coinpare Martin, New Century Bible, "Proverbs," etc., 
on Proverbs 30:7, page 192; compare also the Pythago- 
rean deification of Numbers. 



fll] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 209 

§ 42. The Character of the Wisdom Literature. 

In the author's "Story of the Old Testament",* 
the following is said in illustration of the wisdom 
type of thought: 

Of the three great educational forces of the old country- 
life in America, the pulpit, the stump, and the cross- 
roads store, the last has been all but ignored. Here, 
nevertheless, gathered from day to day the farmers of the 
neighborhood, and it became a clearing house for the 
ideas of the community. If the preacher preached from 
the pulpit on Sunday, the farmer had his say through the 
week from the cracker box on the porch of the cross- 
roads store, where he gave his views on theology and 
ethics. If a candidate for Congress spoke in the county 
seat one day, for the next six months the cracker box 
philosopher discussed his speech and the political ques- 
tions of the hour. Here, too, the successful man of the 
world told how he planted and harvested or of how he 
doctored his horse or cow; and if there was some wise 
man who, like Robert Louis Stevenson's "Will o' the 
Mill," had lived long and thoughtfully, the crossroads 
store was the pulpit whence spread his epigrams. 

Now, there arose in Israel just such a quaint group 
of conversation-philosophers or "wise men," who de- 
lighted in epigram and who, with their pungent maxims 
of everyday life, began to rival the prophet and the 
priest. These proverbs got themselves repeated on all 
sides. The glory of wisdom and of knowledge — of more 
value than gold or rubies — the foolishness of a haughty 
spirit, the dangers of strong drink and impurity, and the 
virtue of prudence became common tenets everywhere. 
The general character of these philosophers can perhaps 
be best illustrated by calling Benjamin Franklin a the 

*Pages 133 and 134. 

^--Shakespeare's fools are also purveyors of wisdom, 
called fools because they were foolishly bold in their wise 
observations. 

u 



210 An Outline of Old Testament [§42 

"wise man" of American literature, and by pointing to 
Solomon as the archetype of the wise men of Israel. So 
true is the latter that the book of their short sayings is 
headed "The Solomonic Proverbs," just as the Psalms are 
called the Davidic Psalms, though many of them are not 
attributed to David by the Psalter itself. 

The earlier type out of which wisdom arose is 
represented in the riddle couplets of Samson. To 
quote "The Story of the Old Testament" further: 

Here, too, we find what seems to be genuinely premedi- 
tated rhyme. Samson puts forth his riddle, which, as it 
Stands in the Hebrew Bible, cannot be rhyme. 

Out of the eater came forth meat; 

Out of the strong came forth sweetness. 

But after the Philistines guess his riddle, suspecting that 
his bride had betrayed his secrets, he answers: 

If with my heifer you did not plow, 
You should not guess my riddle now. 

Kautzsch notes rhyme in other places also, as in the 
songs of Lamech, and in Judges 16:24, where the Phi- 
listine turned the folk rhyme of Samson: 

Our God has delivered into our hand 

Him who spreads murder and havoc through our land.* 

This, however, is only a very subordinate type of the 
wisdom literature, just as it is by no means representa- 
tive of Old Testament poetry. In later times, the wise 
man or sage comes to be an important factor in the life 
of the nation. And when, after Malachi, the voice of 
prophecy is hushed or merged into the purely apocalyptic, 
the wise man and the wisdom literature hold a prominent 
place in Jewish life. Jesus himself adopts this method 
of teaching. Not only like the prophet does he preach, 

*See Kent's "Historical Bible" and Kautzsch's "Die 
Poesie und die poctiscfien Bitclier des Alien Testament" 



fll] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 211 

or like the rabbi teach in the synagogues, but also, like 
the wise man, he grips men by the way, uttering epi- 
grams which circulate throughout the country. "Phy- 
sician, heal thyself," "A prophet is not without honor, 
save in his own country," and the Beatitudes are exam- 
ples of this method in the teaching of Jesus. 

But here we are concerned with the Old Testament 
alone. Already in Jeremiah (18:18) the wise man is 
mentioned as coordinate with the prophet and priest. 
"Come," say the people, "let us devise devices against 
Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, 
nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the 
prophet." 

From the saying or couplet figure it was only a 
short step to the fable or parable. One should not, 
however, as is usually done, regard the parable as a 
purely wisdom product. If one will compare the 
parable of Nathan (2 Sam. 12:1-7) with Jotham's 
fable (Judges 9:8-15) or with the more closely akin 
enacted-parable of Joab (2 Sam. 14:1-20), in which 
the "wise woman'' of Tekoa suggests to David "Thou 
art the man," one will observe the difference between 
the parable in the mouths of the prophet and the 
wise man respectively. Nathan's parable makes 
David see the heinousness of his act, and was in- 
tended so to do, while Jotham's fable and Joab's 
parable strike at the foolishness of the courses 
condemned. The one has a didactic and prosaic, the 
other a characteristically human and poetic, flavor. 
Compare also 2 Kings 14:9 with Isaiah 5:1-7. 

Two other types of wisdom are referred to in the 
Old Testament that must be clearly distinguished 
from the wisdom of the wisdom books. One is the 
wise judge who sees through cases brought to his 



212 An Outline of Old Testament [§42 

attention and decides them in a strikingly wise way. 
The typical instances of this sort of wisdom are Solo- 
mon's decision between the two harlots (1 Kings 3 : 16- 
28) and Daniel's separate examination of the witness- 
es in the apocryphal book, "The History of Susanna." 
Compare Deuteronomy 1:13-15. The second type 
is the magician or astrologer referred to in the book 
of Daniel (2:12). 

Quite different from these are the wise men of 
Jeremiah 18: 18 and of the book of Proverbs. Rising 
from the background of the common life of men and 
the folklore and folk-literary sayings, they become 
a set of professional teachers at first chiefly on topics 
of practical ethics; then, bathed in the spirit of 
prophecy, they urge trust in Jehovah and handle 
the deeper problems of evil and of life. It is custom- 
ary to speak of the wisdom literature as the reflective 
thought or as the broader universalism and higher 
individualism of the Hebrews. Neither of these 
views is accurate or adequate. The broadest univer- 
salism, certainly, and in one aspect at least, a hardly 
less definite individualism appears in the prophets; 
and it is there, and not in the wisdom element, that 
the true Hebrew philosophy is found. This philoso- 
phy is a philosophy of history. 

Read again §10, If 11, §30, 1fl. Compare "The 
Story of the Old Testament," Chapter IX. 

The classic wisdom statement of this philosophy 
is in Proverbs 14:34, 

Righteousness exalteth a nation, 
But sin is a curse to any people; 

and in Psalm 37:11: 



fll] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 213 

The meek shall inherit the land; 

And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. 

The true touchstone of the wisdom literature is its 
view of righteousness and sin, as has been previous- 
ly indicated. To the prophet, sin is rebellion and 
ingratitude;* to the priest, it is defilement and un- 
cleanness; to the wise man, it is foolishness and 
stupidity. Righteousness is thought of, likewise, 
by the three viewpoints in terms of duty or obliga- 
tion, of purity, and of wisdom respectively. One 
must not think of these three, however, as so many 
water-tight compartments of national thought and 
life, but as living, growing streams, each from time to 
time modifying the others in the direction of its 
own character. That they were distinct, neverthe- 
less, in ancient life is shown by Jeremiah 18:18 as 
well as by other less explicit references; that they 
produced each a distinct product, however influenced 
by the others, a careful examination of the Old 
Testament will prove. 

The wisdom type is not one exclusive, or even 
most native, to the Hebrew mind. Certainly, on 
the other hand, it must not be counted as the litera- 
ture wherein the Hebrews attempted what the 
Greeks did in their philosophy. The early Greek 
thinkers, Thales and his successors, were not of this 
type: they were metaphysicians. In Socrates and 
the sophists the wisdom point of view comes to the 

a Compare the Stoic devotion to God and the Stoic idea 
of moral obligation: in these aspects the Stoic philosophy 
is more akin to the point of view of the Old Testament 
prophets than to that of the wise men. 



214 An Outline of Old Testament [§12 

fore. They ask concerning wise courses of con- 
duct and even declare that virtue is essentially wis- 
dom and knowledge. Plato departs from this tenet, 
and in his "Republic"* so states his problem as to 
amount to a denial of the wisdom standpoint. His 
problem is: if it were definitely proved that it is un- 
wise for the individual to be just, is there still any 
reason for the righteous life? 3. He answers, "Yes," 
and finds that reason in terms of aesthetics. These 
are the four great viewpoints for testing virtue and 
vice, obligation or rebellion, purity or defilement, 
wisdom or stupidity, beauty or ugliness. Perhaps 
sin as pathological, as disease, might be added to 
these; righteousness is then the normal, the healthy. b 
The Christian ideal of virtue as love is descriptive 
rather than critical. Love is how virtue behaves 
and is virtuous because it is obligatory, or wise in 
the long run, or ideal from the standpoints of law- 
lessness, normality, or beauty. After Plato and 
Aristotle, who took philosophy back to metaphysics, 
the wisdom ideal comes back to the fore; and in 
Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and the Epicureans the 
virtuous man is the wise man and "wisdom," in the 
technical sense, is the dominating note in philosophy. 
The wisdom viewpoint is one that runs through 
the literature of the world. It is not the present 

*Tlie speeches of Glaucon and Adeimantus, in the open- 
ing of Book II. 

a Of course the Republican State itself argues the value 
of social justice to the individual; but Plato goes beyond 
this in his reasons for the individual's conduct. 

b Plato reflects this doctrine also. 



ftl] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 215 

purpose to deal further with the subject: so much 
has been said to show the real affinities of Old Testa- 
ment wisdom. 

A good exercise is to read the book of Proverbs 
and the discourses of Epictetus one after another to 
see their affinity as wisdom books. Compare also 
for two very different aspects of the same type — 
one philosophical, one practical — John Stuart Mill's 
little essay on "Utilitarianism" and Benjamin 
Franklin's "Poor Richard's Almanac." One of the 
important influences in Franklin's early life, by the 
way, was the book of Proverbs. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE WISDOM BOOKS: ECCLESIASTES AND JOB 
§ 43. Ecclesiastes. 

1f 1. The general character of Ecclesiastes and Job. 

It should always be remembered that everything 
in the Bible is not of the Bible — that the Bible quotes 
all sorts of opinions. This fact should be constantly 
borne in mind while studying Job and Ecclesiastes. 
"All that a man hath will he give for his life," for 
example, is in the Bible; but if one will read Job 2:4 
it will be seen to be a Satan's doctrine. So the 
speeches of Eliphaz and the other friends must not 
be taken without at least considering Job 42 : 7, and 
the speeches of Job must be balanced somehow with 
Job 38:1 and 2. Similarly, Ecclesiastes 12:13 in- 
dicates that various viewpoints have been considered 
in the book and that now "all have been heard' ' and 
the conclusion is in order. It has frequently been 
maintained that Proverbs represents the views of 
Solomon in the prime of a manhood faithful to 
Jehovah, and that Ecclesiastes represents the med- 
itations of the aged king who had drunk deep at 
the fountains of both wisdom and dissolute pleasure. 
Whether this be the case or not, one must ask him- 
self carefully how far the book itself in its final form 
means to give its approval to any particular view 
expressed. 

Ecclesiastes and Job, then, are books that present 
various points of view in order to set forth a definite 
message. 

(216) 



U 5] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 217 

Tf2. The introductory statement concerning the 
ceaseless, dreary, treadmill round of life. 

Read Ecciesiastes 1:1-11. 

Dwell upon the attitude toward life represented 
here, and the ability with which this attitude is 
expressed as measured by the mood the reading of 
the passage induces. Compare the "Rubaiyat" of 
Omar Khayyam. For a discussion of this point of 
view see William James's essay, "Is Life Worth 
Living?" in his "Will to Believe." Compare also 
Bryant's "Thanatopsis" and "Flood of Years." 

If 3. The preacher's or, as the word might better 
be translated, the lecturer's quest. 

Read Ecciesiastes 1:12-18. 

Which of the three viewpoints — prophetic, priestly, 
or wisdom — does the book reflect? 

If 4. Mirth, wisdom, and achievement as motives 
in life and as values for life are successively tested 
out. What is the conclusion? 

Read Ecciesiastes 2: 1-23. 

If 5. The pursuit of the even tenor of one's way 
and the theory of a time for everything seem to fare 
no better when put to the test. Noting especially 
the last clauses of 2: 26 and 3: 19, 

Read Ecciesiastes 2:24 to 3:22. 

Observe that while the Preacher may be called 
skeptical concerning a future life (3:20, 21) and 
concerning the value of life, he has a sure belief in 
God. 

Does 3:22 present a conclusion concerning which 
the verdict "All is vanity" does not apply or does 



218 An Outline of Old Testament [§43 

this verdict apply here also? Compare 2:24. Keep 
this question in mind as you proceed. 

116. Ecclesiastes 4:1 to 11:8. 

There are many difficulties in the section, as indeed 
in the entire book: it has well been described as 
the fascination of the casual reader and the de- 
spair of the interpreter. Perhaps the section for the 
present study can be best considered as a sym- 
posium of observations and proverbs in line with 
the Lecturer's purpose expressed in 12:9 — a sym- 
posium of proverbs bathed in the spirit of the in- 
troduction and the search (1:12 to 3:22) for some 
value in life. Observe that, as is frequent in men of 
a pessimistic tone, such as Buddha, Schopenhauer, 
and others, the note of profound sadness is accom- 
panied by a note of deep and wide sympathy. 
These two strains have contributed largely to the 
popularity of the book, for all mankind knows the 
language of sorrow and sympathy. 

Now read the section Ecclesiastes 4:1 to 11:9. 

Note the injunctions and the faith of 5:7, 8 and 
8:12, 13. Consider the doctrine of 7:29. What 
do you think of that of 7: lb and 16, 17? The prov- 
erbs in 9:10a and 11:1 have been favorites with 
many, as has the first part of 9:11. But consider 
this last in the light of the last clause of the verse: 
what do you think of it in this light? Consider the 
pathetic message of 9:13-16. 

Underscore other passages that impress you. 

H7. Youth. 

Read Ecclesiastes 11:9 to 12:8. 

Is this an expansion of the tentative conclusion 



ft 9] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 210 

of 3:22 or not? Consider the beauty and pathos 
of the passage. For proposed applications of details 
in 12:3-7 to different portions of the human body, 
one must be referred to the commentaries. 

Note the conclusion, 12:8. 

If 8. The end of wisdom and study. 

Read Ecclesiastes 12:9-12. 

Note the wisdom viewpoint. 

If 9. The ultimate conclusion. 

Read Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14. 

The whole process represented in the book has 
been an effort to search out the wisest course of 
human conduct and the values in life that are worth 
seeking. According to the experience and inquiry 
of the Lecturer, vanity is written over the human 
endeavor to attain satisfaction. But one point re- 
mains steadfast, the fear of God. This is in keeping 
with the whole wisdom conception (compare Pro v. 
1:7 and the footnote on page 197); but the exact 
viewpoint of the two verses as a whole is more doubt- 
ful. Observe that the word "duty" is in italics, in- 
dicating that it is supplied by the translators to give 
their interpretation of the passage. If this clause 
means "This is the whole duty of man" and verse 14 
threatens a deserved punishment upon those who rebel 
against God, this wisdom book finally abandons the 
idea of values for that of obligation and the wisdom 
for the prophetic standpoint. If the clause means 
'Tor this is the one value in life," or if verse 14 
means the fear of God is wise in view of his inevitable 
judgment, then the wisdom standpoint is maintained. 
Either view is possible: which one do you take? 



220 An Outline of Old Testament [§44 

IT 10. Now, in the light of your study, 

Read Ecclesiastes at a sitting. 

What do you think of the various passages and 
of the book as a whole? How far do you think the 
book gives its indorsement to any passage except 
the last two verses? Answer this question thought- 
fully and carefully, expressing your own independent 
view. 

§ 44. Job. 

Ifl. First recall the discussion of §43, If 1. 

The book of Job contains a prose prologue, a 
prose epilogue, and a poem constituting the body of 
the book. The Revised Versions make this evident 
by printing the poetry in verse form. Noting the 
straight prose character and absence of parallelism 
of the passages, 

Read Job 1 and 2 and 42: 7-17. 

Such a reading obtains a complete story, except 
that the opening verses of the last passage indicate 
that certain utterances have been omitted. The 
Job of popular knowledge is the patient, faithful 
Job of the prose narrative. Except for a few short 
quotations which reflect the point of view of the Job 
of the prologue and epilogue, or which are known as 
isolated proverbs apart from any context, the poem 
of Job scarcely comes into the thought of the average 
person at all. The disasters that befell Job; the 
accusation of Satan; the unsatisfactory efforts of the 
three friends to "comfort" him, inferable from 2: Il- 
ls and 42:7; the pitiable plight of the sufferer; 
the patient, pious words of 1: 21 and 2: 10; the subse- 



Tf3] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 221 

quent prosperity following the prayer for his friends — 
this is the well-known Job, the model of patience. 
Just as in the case of the book of Rosea, there are 
so many cross currents of opinion concerning the 
Job-poem that it will be well to get one view as a 
whole before the mind and to leave detailed com- 
parisons of other viewpoints for later study. One 
should not judge the view here presented, nor any 
view in so complicated a problem, until the whole 
presentation has been completed. 

1f2. Job's cry of anguish and weariness with life. 

Read Job 3. 

Job's calamities (some feel that the seven-day 
silence of his friends was the culmination) have made 
him at least less patient. Compare Job's cursing 
of the day of his birth to Jeremiah's (Jer. 20: 14-18). 
Consider the pathos of the longing for death and 
the silent peace of the grave (verses 13-15 and 17-19). 
Compare these verses with lines 31-50 of Bryant's 
"Thanatopsis" and with the book of Ecclesiastes. 

%S. The first speech of Eliphaz. 

(1) Eliphaz says: "Now, Job, remember." He 
praises Job's previous conduct and urges him to 
hold on to God. "All will ultimately be well: the 
righteous suffer, but God saves them from destruc- 
tion; they have troubles, but God delivers them" — 
this is his doctrine. 

Read Job 5:18-20. 

The same thought appears more finely expressed 
in the earlier part of the speech. An old school 
rhetoric compares the literal with the figurative 
style by citing the common proverb, "Misfortunes 



222 An Outline of Old Testament [§44 

never come singly," in comparison with Shakespeare's 
expression of the same thought, 

When sorrows come, they come not single spies, 
But in battalions!* 

Now compare the common proverb quoted by Paul, 
"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap," 
with the same thought expressed in a highly poetic 
and beautiful way: 

Read Job 4:7-9. 

(2) Eliphaz has an explanation of Job's suffering 
as well as a call to trust. 

(a) He feels that this explanation came to him in 
a deep, sacred, prophetic vision. 

Read Job 4:12-14. 

(b) It is not that Job has committed sin above 
others that he suffers, but it is that all men are 
sinful in the sight of God; and however perfect a 
man may be in the sight of men, he has no right to 
boast or complain before God. It is the doctrine of 
Daniel's prayer (Dan. 9), of Jesus in Luke 17:10, 
the doctrine that Paul worked out in its philosophical 
form in Romans. Compare especially Romans 3:9, 
20, 23, 27; 4:2; and 11:32. The misunderstanding 
in the English Version of Job 4 : 17 has spoiled 
Eliphaz's point. Following the Revised Version 
margin and rendering verse 17, 

Shall a man be just before God? 
Shall a man be pure before his Maker? 

Read Job 4:17-21. 

♦"Hamlet," Act IV., Scene 5. 



ft4] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 223 

(c) Eliphaz insists that, since God charges his 
angels with folly, there is no use of turning to any of 
them: one can turn to God alone. 

Read Job 5:1 and 8:16. 

(3) " Now, with these interpretations in mind, 

Read Job 4 and 5. 

Compare 5:10 with Matthew 5:45, and 5:13 with 
1 Corinthians 3:19. 

ft 4. (1) Job's next speech is in part a pitiable 
plea for sympathy and a confession of the rashness 
of his previous utterance. 

Read Job 6:3; compare verses 26 and 14 in this 
order. 

(2) Job turns to a bemoaning of the hopelessness 
of his fate, and then seems to take the bit in his teeth 
and speak his whole mind's attack upon God. 

Read Job 7: 6, 7 and 7: 11-14. 

He had not gone so far in his previous speech. 

(3) Job's contention is twofold: first, he claims 
his righteousness in view of the idea that suffering 
involves previous sin; second, he says that if he had 
sinned, why should God not forgive rather than 
afflict him so? 

Read Job 6: 29 and 7: 20, 21. 

(4) A bit of literature may be excellent either as 
an expression of idealistic thought of things that 
ought to be or, to use Mr. Wells's trenchant phrase, 
as "a footnote to reality." Now, considering this 
passage as such a "footnote," giving as perfectly as 
a Shakespeare could the inner workings of a mind 
in such a plight as Job's, 

Read Job 6 and 7. 



224 An Outline of Old Testament [§44 

Compare the doctrines expressed by Job in these 
chapters with the view of Eliphaz. 

If 5. Eliphaz has appealed to his own observation 
(4:8a) and to his prophetic vision; Bildad appeals 
to the authority of the ancients. 

Read Job 8. 

Verses 4 and 5 seem to argue, 'Thy children were 
cut off, Job, for their own sin; your righteousness 
could not save them: only trust in God for your 
own deliverance." "All will ultimately be well with 
you" (verses 6, 7, and 21). Compare Ezekiel 14: 12- 
20, 18:1 and Jeremiah 31:29, 30. 

If 6. (1) The problem of Job and Eliphaz is the 
problem of Paul. 

Read Job 9:26. Compare Job 4: 17 (R. V., mar- 
gin) and Romans 2:13, 3:20. 

Read also Job 9:28-31. 

(2) Job, it seems, answers Eliphaz rather than 
Bildad. The latter's appeal to authority has had 
the effect in Job's mind simply of reenforcing the 
contention of the former. Job acknowledges that 
God's ways are past finding out and that man cannot 
be righteous in his sight. 

Read Job 9:1-14. 

(3) Verse 15 is difficult to square with verses 16 
and 17. Perhaps Job means "should" rather than 
"would":, 8 

Whom, though I were righteous, I should not answer; 
I should [or ought to] make supplication to my judge, 

* Compare Gesenius- Kautzsch, "Hebraische Gram- 
matik," 28 auflage, §107n. 



1J7] Prophecy , Wisdom, and Worship 225 

But if I had called, and he answered me, 
Yet would I not believe, . . . 
For he breaketh me. 

(4) Job's plea, then, is one of confession and 
avoidance. "You are right/ ' he says to his two 
friends who have thus far spoken, "God is great, 
and man is impure in his sight; but is this not 
tantamount to saying that there is no humanly in- 
telligible moral order?" 

Read Job 9:22-24. 

(5) Job complains that there is no umpire to 
decide between himself and God. This is what he 
seeks: he wants to be shown some things. 

Read Job 9:33 and 10:2. 

(6) Nov/, with these points in mind, 
Read chapters 9 and 10. 

Is this the patient Job of the first days of his afflic- 
tion or not? 

If 7. (1) The chief difficulty of Zophar's speech 
is the last part of verse 6. But consider: (a) that 
the only charge made against Job so far has been, 
not one of specific sin previous to his affliction, but 
one of participation in the common sinfulness of 
humanity, which precludes the right of any man to 
object to any punishment or chastisement God might 
inflict; (b) that Zophar's next sentence is not a 
specification of Job's sins, but a question concerning 
the inscrutableness of God's ways. Is it not more 
probable, therefore, that Zophar's standpoint is the 
same as that of Eliphaz? Compare Isaiah 6:5. 

(2) Now read Job 11. 

How would you describe Zophar's character in 
15 



226 An Outline of Old Testament [§44 

comparison with the characters of Eliphaz and 
Bildad? 

If 8. (1) Job accuses God even more sharply still 
and asserts even more emphatically that the world is 
morally topsy-turvy. 

Compare Job 12:4-6 with Malachi 2:17 and 
3:13-15; Zephaniah 1:12; Habakkuk 1:3. 

(2) Note that the margin of the English Revised 
Version and the text of the American changes the 
rendering of Job 13:15. The Authorized rendering 
reflects the attitude of the patient Job of the earlier 
days of his affliction and shows how fully the Job 
of general acceptation is the Job, not of the poem, 
but of the prose prologue. Furthermore, "But you 
are forgers of lies," in 13:4, is too adversative. Job 
is not saying, "God is on my side, not yours"; but 
"If God would not overawe me, I should like to 
argue the question out with him, especially if there 
were an umpire between us." 

Read again Job 9:33-35 and then 13:3 and 20-28. 

(3) Now read Job 12 to 14. 

If 9. Noting especially verse 6 and how Eliphaz 
keeps to his main contention in verses 14-16 (com- 
pare 4:17-19), 

Read Job 15. 

Observe the note of faith in verse 22. Eliphaz 
further condemns Job's present attitude and blas- 
phemy as he conceives it; but does he charge Job with 
specific sin previous to his affliction? Is not the 
wickedness he charges Job with one of refusing to 
believe that God is now caring for him and will 
relieve him if he is righteous and trusts God (verses 



ft 11] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 227 

20-22)? And even granting that Job's suffering is 
boundless, Eliphaz asks the great question of verse 
11: what is this? 

If 10. Let Bildad's second speech be studied here 
in order that Job's next two speeches may be taken 
together. 

Read Job 18. 

If 11. (1) Note that in his two speeches (chapters 
16, 17, and 19) Job arraigns God most severely. 

Read Job 16:11-17 and 19:6. 

(2) In this attitude Job does not get the better 
of his friends, but in his plea for sympathy he does — 
certainly from the standpoint of a modern interpreter. 

Read 16:1-5 and 19:21. 

(3) The usual interpretations of Job 19:25 have 
swung far from the traditional view that it is a 
direct prophecy of Christ, but the true interpretation 
seems to the present writer, taking the verse in its 
larger context, more nearly in the line of the older 
than of the critical view. Job's desire in 9:33, since 
he certainly could not have been thinking of a human 
umpire, was for a heavenly umpire to decide the 
case between himself and God. Now, 

Read Job 16:19-22 and 19:25-27, following the 
Revised Version marginal rendering "vindicator," 
Hebrew goel, instead of redeemer. Compare the 
fear of Eliphaz in 4: 18 and 5: 1 that Job might turn 
to some angelic holy ones for vindication or sym- 
pathy. 

Might not one ask at this point whether or not 
the longing for an intermediary between poor, weak 
man and the ever-increasingly-felt majesty and holi- 



228 An Outline of Old Testament [§44 

ness of God has not been the chief psychological 
factor in making Christianity with its mediatorial 
Christ take so strong a hold upon the universal 
human mind? And was not Job in his own way 
crying out for such a mediary? Compare the way 
Isaiah 53 sets forth a vicarious sacrifice as God's 
intermediary for working out his purpose in human- 
ity. One might almost say that Job 19:25 and 
Isaiah 53 form the skeleton of Christian theology, 
at least in one of its main aspects, only needing to 
be filled in with the flesh and blood of the historic 
Jesus and breathed upon with the breath of life 
by the Holy Spirit as conceived in the writings of 
Paul. 

(4) Now read Job 16, 17, and 19. 

If 12. Zophar speaks in refutation of the doctrine 
of Job that the tents of robbers prosper and the wick- 
ed control the earth, by asserting the temporariness 
of their triumph. This Job rebuts, by reasserting 
the prosperity of the wicked and of his descendants 
and by affirming that punishment to his children 
after a man is dead is no real punishment to the 
man himself (21:21). Noting especially the strong 
language of 21:15, 

Read chapters 20 and 21. 

If 13. It is well to pause at this point and consider 
some later developments in the book. Two difficul- 
ties have long presented themselves to readers of 
Job: perhaps they are simply two phases of a single 
question, Why does God reply to Job in chapters 
38 to 42 (compare 38:1, 2, 40:1, 2) so that Job 
repents and abhors himself (40:3-5 and 42:1-6), 



fl 14] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 229 

although 42:7 condemns not Job but Eliphaz and 
his two friends? The only answer seems to be that, 
in general, the Jehovah speeches condemn the Job 
of chapters 3-21, while the Eliphaz of a later chapter, 
as will appear, is the one condemned in 42:7. 

To the present writer the point of view that Eli- 
phaz has so far been upholding is the one the Jehovah 
speeches approve and is the doctrine of the ninth 
chapter of Daniel and of Paul in Romans and Gala- 
tians. Man cannot claim exoneration and justifica- 
tion in the sight of God as a right due to his good 
works and pure character, but only by God's free 
grace. God's ways are past finding out (compare 
Rom. 3: 4 and 11: 33-36 and the book of Job, passim) 
and man is foolish to question his judgments: God 
is so high and holy that men cannot be spotless be- 
fore him (compare particularly Eliphaz in 4:17 and 
Jehovah in 40:8, 9, and 14): hence man is wicked 
to question him. But 

If 14. Eliphaz does not maintain his high ground. 
He begins to charge Job with specific sins, basing 
his opinion simply on the fact that Job is now suffer- 
ing. He thus reverses his opinion expressed in 4: 2-4. 
Comparing this earlier passage with 22:6-9, 

Read Job 22. 

This chapter might be called "The Fall of Eli- 
pnaz." a 

a As always, the method in these studies is to get the 
message of the final author. The question as to whether 
this turning point in the book of Job represents a dif- 
ferent strain in the sources used by this final author is 
beyond the scope of the present purpose. 



230 An Outline of Old Testament [§44 

1f 15. The next chapter might almost equally well 
be called "The Conversion of Job." 

Observing the plaintive tone of the search for 
God in 23:3 and the faith of 24:20-24, 

Read Job 23 and 24. 

This is in a vastly different tone from that of the 
previous speeches and more akin to the Job of the 
earlier days of his affliction. Taking the Job-poem 
as a whole, Job's complaint reaches its climax in 
chapters 16-21. Does the fall of Eliphaz into specific 
and unfounded charges interject the stimulus that 
makes him begin to come to himself? 

If 16. Bildad's next utterance merely reflects the 
earlier doctrine of Eliphaz. 

Read Job 25. 

1f 17. Job, after a short lapse into his earlier mood, 
praises wisdom, which to him is identical with the 
fear of Jehovah (28:28); recalls his past happiness 
and his joy in previous pious service; bemoans his 
present state and asserts his integrity. 

Read Job 26 to 31. 

Is not this Job that is commended and the Eliphaz 
of chapter 22 that is condemned in 42:7? 

If 18. There has been much debate over the 
speeches of Elihu. Perhaps his chief significance 
and originality is that, while the others emphasize 
the common sinfulness of the human heart or specific 
sins of Job before his affliction, Elihu places chief 
stress upon Job's self-righteous arraignment of God 
and on the pride that must have existed all the time, 
only to be brought to the surface by his affliction. 



{[22] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 231 

These have already been touched upon, but not 
with Elihu's emphasis. 

Read Job 32 to 37. 

What, from these speeches, is the character of 
Elihu as compared with the other three men? 

If 19. Perhaps the sweeping greatness of the book 
of Job, generally recognized as one of the greatest 
books of all time, is, naturally enough, in the speeches 
of Jehovah. Considering the power of certain pas- 
sages, such as 38:6-11, 31, 39-41, 39:5-10, and the 
meaning of the whole in the light of the discussion 
in f 13, 

Read Job 38 to 41. 

If 20. What is the effect upon Job? 

Read Job 40:3-5 and 42:1-6. 

f 21. What is Job's final state? And what is the 
turning point of his affliction? Noting especially 
verse 10a, 

Read the prose epilogue, Job 42:7-17. 

If22. The general character and message of the 
book of Job. 

(1) One must by this time have been convinced 
that Job is a wisdom book, not merely because of the 
poem on wisdom in chapter 28, but (a) because of 
the recurrence of the wisdom terms, a like instruction, 
reproof, wisdom, etc. ; and (6) because of the general 
point of view of the whole book. Job is not arraigned 
in prophetic discourses, but argued with; his atten- 

aSometimes the wisdom terms that occur in the Eng- 
lish versions do not represent strictly wisdom words in 
the Hebrew; but the Hebrew text will not bear out the 
wisdom character less definitely than the English. 



232 An Outline of Old Testament [§44 

tion is called chiefly, not to his rebelliousness, but 
to his foolish failure to understand the power, holi- 
ness, and unsearchableness of God; and his repent- 
ance is of the fact that he had hidden counsel with 
words without knowledge and had spoken beyond 
his ken. The book reflects, of course, prophetic and 
even priestly currents of thought, but it is distinctly 
surcharged with the spirit of Hebrew wisdom. 

(2) It has been customary in some quarters to 
regard Job almost as a Platonic dialogue on the 
problem of evil. Such a position seems to ignore 
completely the character of the Hebrew mind. One 
of the most impossible views in the history of Biblical 
interpretation is the one that makes the author of 
the book of Job look with allowance upon Job's 
arraignment of God and of the moral order of the 
world. The book's attitude toward this arraignment, 
as has been seen, is reflected in the Jehovah-speeches 
concerning "darkening counsel." Job is not a 
search into the problem of evil, such as a Greek 
might write, but a pronouncement upon the problem 
of evil — a pronouncement that reflects, of course, 
long and painstaking thought and meditation upon 
the subject. One aspect of this pronouncement 
that is most akin to the Pauline ideas of sin and grace 
has already been treated. The main viewpoints of 
the book as a whole, in addition to this one, are 

(a) All suffering is not punitive; some is a neces- 
sary testing process. If always, everywhere, and im- 
mediately it pays to be righteous, the retort of 
Satan is apposite: "Both Job fear God for naught?" 
Only through trial and stress is righteousness made 



*J[22] Prophecy, Wisdom, mid Worship 233 

apparent (compare Judges 3:4). The book of Job 
tells one instance of how God tested out an ancient 
saint, Job. Furthermore there is dross and alloy in 
the best of men and a purifying process is demand- 
ed (5:17). a The book of Proverbs probably goes 
further in this line of thinking than does Job or 
the Wisdom of ben-Sira. It intimates that suffering 
may be the mark of divine favor and love, just as 
when a man is seen chastening a boy one might infer 
that the man is the lad's father and has interest in 
the lad's behavior beyond his interest in the be- 
havior of the other boys (Prov. 3:11, 12). 

(6) But above and beyond all suggestions toward 
a solution of the problem of suffering and evil is the 
fact of the inscrutableness of the ways of God. Man 
is too small and petty to fathom God; the only wise 
course is humbly and in supreme faith and trust to 
accept him. b 

(c) God will bring things out all right in the end. 
This is not only the teaching of the epilogue, but is 
implicit in the earlier speeches of Eliphaz. In 
weighing this aspect and the story of the final restora- 
tion of Job to double prosperity, one should consider 
that a world in which in the long stretches of eter- 

a So the apocryphal book of Ecclesiasticus, or the Wis- 
dom of ben-Sira (4: 17, 18), says of Wisdom's ways: 

For at first she will walk with him in crooked ways, 

And will bring fear and dread upon him, 

And torment him with her discipline, 

Until she may trust his soul, and try him by the judgments : 

Then she will return again the straight way unto him, 

And will gladden him, and reveal to him her secrets. 

b Compare 2 Esdras 5:33. 



234 An Outline of the Old Testament [§44 

nity the righteous and loving have normally and per- 
manently a career of suffering and the wicked the 
opposite, is not a world in which moral order reigns. 

If 23. Now, after reviewing the points brought out 
in this treatment of Job, 

Read Job at a sitting, letting the full power of 
individual passages and the sweep of the entire book 
flow through your whole being. There are some 
scholars who think that Job, in many places at least, 
represents not so much an individual as the Israelite 
community in its sufferings: what do you think of 
this view? Do you think the book is rightly re- 
garded as one of the world's masterpieces? 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE LAMENTATIONS AND THE SONG OF SONGS 
§ 45. Lamentations. 

fl. It has already been learned that the Hebrew 
Bible is composed of three groups or canons: the 
Law, the Prophets, and the "Other Writings." 
Within this last group is an interesting subgroup, 
the five Megilloth, or ritual "rolls," designated to be 
read at the sacred seasons: The Song of Songs at 
the Passover, Ruth at Pentecost, Lamentations on 
the Day of the Destruction of Jerusalem, Ecclesiastes 
at the feast of Tabernacles, and Esther at the feast 
of Purim. Of these, Ruth and Esther have been 
treated with the prophetic and priestly narratives 
and Ecclesiastes with the wisdom books; -there re- 
main for study at this juncture Lamentations and 
the Song of Songs. By most students both of these 
books would have been studied along with one of 
the other groups; by some both would have been 
included in the wisdom literature, but this is pre- 
cluded by the definition of the wisdom literature 
advocated in the present outline. It has been thought 
best to treat them here, just before the treatment 
of the Psalms, as two poetical books more closely 
allied to some of the Psalms in poetical form and 
character than any other books of the Old Testament. 

If 2. Perhaps as good a summary of the character 
of Lamentations as could be given for the present 
purpose is that of Kent, in "The Student's Old 

(235) 



236 An Outline of Old Testament [§15 

Testament: The Songs, Hymns, and Prayers of the 
Old Testament."* He says: 

The book of Lamentations is the most conventional and 
stereotyped of all the Old Testament writings. Four of 
its five chapters consist of acrostics in which each suc- 
ceeding verse or group of verses begins with a succeeding 
letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Even though the fifth 
chapter is not an acrostic, it has twenty-two verses cor- 
responding to the number of letters in the Hebrew alpha- 
bet. In the first and second chapters each verse contains 
three lines, in the fourth a couplet of but two lines. 
These rigid limitations in structure necessarily impede 
the free development of the thought. While these dirges 
lack the freedom and spontaneity of many other Hebrew 
poems, they are not deficient in strong emotion and con- 
tain a remarkably vivid portrayal of the incidents and ex- 
periences connected with the destruction of Jerusalem. 
The poet's reason for employing the acrostic structure 
was evidently to aid the memory. His motive in writing 
was liturgical — that is, to furnish hymns that might be 
readily remembered and chanted, probably in connection 
with the fasts which were observed in commemoration 
of the destruction of Jerusalem and of the temple. In 
the seventh chapter of Zechariah the prophet refers to 
such fasts which in his day had already been observed 
for seventy years, beginning with the destruction of the 
temple in 586 B.C. In form and content these poems 
were well adapted to this liturgical use. They kept alive 
in vivid form the memories of Israel's tragic experience. 
They aimed to impress upon the minds of the people the 
lessons taught by their past, "lest they forget." They 
also aimed to interpret the meaning of those experiences 
and to justify Jehovah's rigorous dealing with his people, 
and thus to arouse in the heart of the nation faith and 
adoration even in the presence of overwhelming calam- 
ity. To the historian they are of inestimable value, for 

*Page 18. 



ff4] Prophecy, V\ 7 isdom, and Worship 237 

they reveal the soul of the race and give contemporary 
pictures of conditions in Jerusalem in the days preceding 
and following its overthrow, regarding which Israel's his- 
torians are almost silent. 

If 3. The first acrostic or alphabetic poem: Lamen- 
tations 1. 

The first seven verses dwell upon the desolation 
of the city. At verse 8 the reason for that desolation 
(already mentioned in verse 5) seems to assume the 
prominent place which it retains through the re- 
mainder of the poem. It has been noted, also, that 
in verses 1-11 the poet speaks, whereas usually in 
verses 12-22 the city itself is the speaker. Drinking 
in its desolate and penitent wail, 

Read Lamentations 1. 

If 4. Observe the type of the parallelism in the first 
four chapters. Compare 1:1 — three long parallel 
lines or sentences, the third effectively reversing the 
order of the ideas. In verse 5 the second line forms 
with the first a synthetic parallellism; the third is 
synonymous with the first. Compare 2:11, where 
two synonymous lines are followed by a synthetic 
one completing the sense of the first two. The 
parallelisms, however, do not seem always perfect, 
and a parallelism sometimes occurs in Lamentations 
1 and 2 within the sentence or clause that forms 
the third of a verse. This fact and the fact that 
the verse-third is made up of a longer line followed 
by a shorter, coupled with a similar phenomenon 
elsewhere, has helped scholars as much as anything 
else to look beyond parallelism to Hebrew meter. 

Peake says: 



238 An Outline of Old Testament [§45 

The most noteworthy literary feature of the book is 
the metrical structure of the first four chapters. These 
are written in Qina rhythm, which we have already 
learned to recognize as Jeremiah's favorite meter. The 
credit for establishing the existence of this meter be- 
longs to Budde, though Lowth and other scholars had 
to some extent anticipated his results. The name, Qina, 
or lamentation, rhythm was given to it by Budde be- 
cause he considered that it was the meter in which dirges 
over the dead were uttered, and thus came to be used 
for elegies over national misfortunes. This meter was, 
however, by no means exclusively employed for lamenta- 
tions, so that the term "Qina rhythm" is retained rather 
as a convenient than strictly accurate designation. a The 
characteristic feature of this rhythm is that it consists of 
long lines divided into two unequal parts, the second 
part being shorter than the first.* 

If 5. The second poem takes up, first, Jehovah's 
wrath and punishment; then it bewails the disaster 
and turns to a call to prayer. 

Read Lamentations 2. 

Note the climax of the disaster in the enemy's 
joy (compare Nahum 3:19, Obad. 12, Ezek. 35:15). 

Observe that the terms in which Jerusalem's sin 
is described are partly prophetic ("rebellion," 1:18 
and 20), but predominantly priestly ("unclean," 
"filthiness," 1:8, 9, and 17). The whole tone of 
Jehovah's anger, however, seems to reflect the pro- 
phetic view of sin, but the chief interest seems to cen- 

a Budde thinks scholars have misunderstood somewhat 
his original statements on these matters. See his article 
in Hastings's Bible Dictionary. 

*The New Century Bible, "Jeremiah," Vol. II., pages 
2S0 and 291. 



J[7] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 239 

ter in the priestly institutions, the sanctuary and 
the solemn assembly. 

If 6. The third poem. First, the poet bemoans the 
desolation in a personal tone, from which fact the 
question arises whether he speaks for himself or as 
the mouthpiece of the community; then appears the 
voice of faith and trust (verses 19-39), followed by 
a call to prayer in verse 40 and the assurance of the 
divine answer in verse 55. 

Read Lamentations 3. 

Compare verses 10 and 14 with Job and the call to 
faith (especially verse 22) with Eliphaz. Compare 
the whole of Lamentations in its view of evil and sin 
with Job 3 to 21 and 38:1 or 32:1 to 42:6. Keep 
these comparisons in mind as you proceed. 

The reason this poem consists of sixty-six verses, 
while the others have twenty-two, is due not to a 
difference in the length of the poems, but to the 
fact that here three successive lines begin with each 
letter of the alphabet, whereas in the other chapters 
only the first line of each three follows the alphabetic 
scheme. The versifier has failed here to catch the 
significance of this fact: twenty- t¥/o verses would 
suit this chapter's real form much better. 

f 7. The fourth acrostic. 

Read Lamentations 4. 

Observe that the height of punishment is in being 
made heartless and cruel (verses 3 and 10). Does 
the height and persistence of the punishment, the 
consciousness of specific previous sins, or the deep 
sense of unworthiness suggest verse 6a? Which do 
you think? 



2-10 An Outline of Old Testament [§46 

Note that the elders are mentioned along with 
prophets and priests. Compare Ezekiel 8:1. 

The source of help must be divine, not human 
(verse 17). 

If 8. The fifth poem (not an acrostic) is a prayer 
for restoration or regeneration, according to the 
translation and interpretation of verse 21. 

Read Lamentations 5. 

Compare verse 7 with Jeremiah 31: 29 and Ezekiel 
18:1-4. 

§ 46. The Song of Songs. 

^[1. (1) There are amongst Bible students two 
methods of interpreting the Song of Songs — the 
allegorical and the literal; and under either method it 
may be regarded as a drama or as a collection of songs. 
The present study does not propose to take sides 
on this question, but aims to present what a general 
view discloses, referring the student to the commen- 
taries and treatises for further study. 

The first problem in studying an allegory is to 
find out what it allegorizes. Therefore, whether the 
Song of Songs be an allegory or not, the first task 
will be to see what picture of Oriental love it presents, 
for that it does present a picture of Oriental love one 
will hardly be disposed to deny. Since many scholars 
regard it as a collection of poems, it is well to take 
what might seem quite apparent division points in 
the book and study what is true of these divisions 
under any theory of the unity of the book and then 
ask certain elementary questions concerning its 
unity, 



Jf4] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 211 

(2) To understand the story of Oriental love given 
in the book one should recall the love stories of Isaac 
and Rebekah (Gen. 24), of Jacob and Rachel (Gen. 
29), of Moses and Zipporah (Ex. 2:16-22),* of Ruth 
and Boaz, and of. Esther and the Persian king.** 

f2. Read Song of Songs 1:1-8. 

Note the statement of the second line of verse 4 
and the beautiful pastoral love and imagery of verse 
7. Observe that a woman seems to be the speaker, 
in all or most of verse 7, but that verse 8 seems an- 
tiphonal — the speaker is answered by an individual 
or a chorus that calls her the "fairest among women." 

1 3. Read Song of Songs 1 : 9 to 2: 6. 

Note the antiphonal character of 2:2, 3 (verse 2, 
the man speaking, and verse 3, the woman). Do 
not be too hasty in deciding other points. 

If 4. Read Song of Songs 2:7 to 3:5. 

Is a man or a woman the speaker here? Observe 
that, if one follow the more probable rendering of 
the last clause as "until it please," the section 
begins and ends with a request reflecting the view 
that the highest love between man and woman is 
not something to be created by a stimulus of the 
will, but that it comes in deeper and more illusive 
ways. 

Compare 2:10-13 to Tennyson's familiar lines in 
"Locksley Hall," noting the same poetic feeling as 
well as the same imagery in both passages: 

*Compare the "Outline for the Study of Old Testament 
History," §7, flO, §9, U U 2-4, and §14, If 7. 

**See the books of Ruth and Esther; also §38, pages 
175 ff. 

16 



242 An Outline of Old Testament [§46 

In th9 spring a fuller crimson comes upon the robin's 

breast; 
In the spring the wanton lapwing gets himself another 

crest; 
In the spring a livelier iris changes on the burnish'd 

dove ; 
In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to 

thoughts of love. 

1[5. Read Song of Songs 3:6-11. 

The passage is quite difficult. 

IF 6. Read Song of Songs 4:1 to 5:1. 

The first few verses sound like a man's speech, and 
4:8, 9 and 5:1 are certainly the words of a man. 
Beneath the freedom of the Oriental imagery is 
the spirit of true love extolling the physical beauty 
of a sweetheart. To-day the comparisons of 4:1 
and 2 seem grotesque. The latter refers to the way 
in which really pretty teeth, especially the upper 
ones, arrange themselves in perfectly matched pairs; 
the former indicates, it seems, how a large flock of 
goats grazing alongside and ranging over the top of 
a treeless mountain might remind an Oriental shep- 
herd of a giant female figure with long flowing hair 
falling over her shoulders. 

f7. Read Song of Songs 5:2 to 6:3. 

Note that a woman speaks, telling first what her 
lover says. In 5: 9 another voice or chorus of voices 
asks a very natural question for an outsider. The 
woman's answer in effect is, "Though he be nothing 
to you, he is everything to me." Get the force and 
beauty of this portrayal of universal passion. An- 
other query from the antiphonal individual or chorus 
is found in 6:1, 



If 13] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 243 

<j[8. Read Song of Songs 6:4-9. 

A man speaks, repeating a part of 4:1-6. Con- 
sider the high ideal of monogamous marriage in 
verses 8 and 9: the lover prefers his bride to all the 
harem of Solomon. 

1f9. Read Song of Songs 6:10-13. 

If 10. Read Song of Songs 7:1-9. 

Such a praise of "the human form divine" as is 
expressed in Greek sculpture and modern painting 
is even more realistic in verse. Either the man or, 
as some think, a chorus of female admirers speaks. 

Ull. Read Song of Songs 7: 10 to 8: 7. 

Observe that the last part of 8:4 is antiphonal. 
The climax of the book is 8:6, 7 — love is as strong 
as death and demands absolute faithfulness in its 
mate. At its best, it is unquenchable and is of more 
worth than all else beside. 

1fl2. Read Song of Songs 8: 8-14. 

In verses 8 and 9 the brothers (or sisters or both) 
speak of a sister's extreme youth and raise the prob- 
lem of her chastity. Verse 10 seems to be her answer 
asserting her perfect chasteness. The remainder of 
the passage is not so clear. 

1fl3. The book has so far been considered as a 
disconnected series of love poems. 

(1) Certainly, if the whole be not allegorical but 
literal, in the midst of ancient polygamy and even 
in modern times, so long as marriages are contracted 
for reasons of wealth or convenience there is abun- 
dant need for its message on the monogamous love 
of man and woman, when they love their best. 
Through the larger part of Jewish and Christian 



244 An Outline of Old Testament [§4G 

history the book has been interpreted allegorically 
and made to represent the relation between God or 
the Christ and his Church. Which view appeals to 
you? If the latter, consider carefully the more im- 
portant applications of the story as you have learned 
to interpret it. For details see the older commenta- 
ries. 

(2) On the question of the unity of the book, 
observe that one refrain runs through the book, 
appearing in 2:7, 3:5, and 8:4, and that it appears 
with significant variation in 5:8. Such variations 
in refrains are not infrequent in modern verse: com- 
pare "Hosanna to your king" in "The Holy City," 
changed very effectively to "Hosanna forevermore" 
in the last stanza, and Poe's variants in "The Ra- 
ven": "Only this, and nothing more," "Nameless 
here forevermore," "Quoth the Raven, Nevermore," 
etc. Many scholars feel also that a similar style and 
tone pervades the entire book and that the whole 
reaches out toward the climax of 8: 1-7. 

Many deem the book an elaborate dramatic poem. 
The student may be referred for this view to Harper's 
little volume in the Cambridge Bible.* 

U 14. The Syriac version calls the Song of Songs 
"The Wisdom of Wisdoms," and modern scholars 
usually class it as a wisdom book. This classification 
is due partly, it would seem, to its having been attrib- 
uted to Solomon, partly to a loose definition of the 
wisdom literature that makes it include all writing 

*See especially pages 63-73, where the author attempts 
to edit the book itself as a drama. 



ft 15] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 215 

not prophetic or priestly in tone or else all that flows 
out of the common daily life of the people. Certain 
it is that the literary flavor of the Song of Songs, 
like that of wisdom, comes from the life of the people; 
hut while the wisdom literature arises from this as a 
source, it becomes a highly specialized type, and there 
is not the slightest ground for regarding the Song of 
Songs as a representative of this type. 

If taken literally, the Song of Songs represents the 
folk-literary type of Hebrew literature bathed in the 
highest idealism of which the common life of men is 
capable. If the book is allegorical, it is probably 
to be counted as strictly prophetic in tone. 

If 15. Now, noting the vast difference in the tone 
and character of the two books and the character- 
istics of each as you have learned to view them, 

Read at a sitting Lamentations and the Song of 
Songs. 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE BOOK OF PSALMS 

§ 47. The Book of Psalms, the Climax of Old Testament 
Religions Devotion. 

f 1. The present purpose is not the mastery of each 
particular Psalm — that would require a course as 
long as the present "Outline' ' in its entirety. The 
aim is rather to learn the general character of the 
Psalms and to study in more detail a few of the 
greatest and most familiar, both as illustrations 
of the various groups and for their own intrinsic 
merit. 

The Psalms, it must be insisted, do not reach 
higher heights than do, for example, Isaiah 53, 
Micah 6: 6-8, or Hosea 11 in their respective spheres. 
They represent rather the culmination of Old Testa- 
ment trust and devotion and sense of the divine care 
and fellowship, which, after all, is the heart of reli- 
gion. As John Arnd expresses it, "What the heart 
is in man, the Psalter is in the Bible/'* Kirkpatrick's 
statement is likewise instructive: 

The importance of the Psalter for a just appreciation 
of the history of Israel is obvious. How meager an idea 
of the higher religious life of Israel should we derive 
from the Historical Books apart from the Prophets; how 
imperfect still would be the picture drawn from the His- 
torical Books and the Prophets without the warmth of 
coloring added to it by the Psalms. These alone give us 

*Quoted by Kautzsch, book cited, page 28, and also by 
Davison, New Century Bible, "The Psalms," Vol. I., page 6. 

(246) 



fll] Prophecy, VJisdom, and Worship 247 

a glimpse into the inner religion of the best spirits in the 
nation, and bear witness to the faith, the love, the devo- 
tion of pious souls even under the limitations of the Old 
Covenant.* 

The Psalms exhibit the three main streams of 
Hebrew thought: some are distinctly of the wisdom 
type, while others reflect the prophetic and priestly 
ideals respectively. In particular, it is interesting 
to go through the Psalms and note the verses that 
reflect the positions of the Job, Eliphaz, and Jehovah 
speeches of the Job-poem. 

The Psalter has been called "The hymn book of 
the second temple," and its central place in Jewish 
and Christian worship attests how fully it reflects 
that aspect of religion that is under the special 
guardianship of the priesthood. The frequent refer- 
ences to the temple, the holy hill of Zion, and the like 
show further the priestly influence; and when thanks- 
giving and contriteness of spirit are called true 
' 'sacrifices" one discerns a prophetic permeation of 
the priestly ideal, perhaps as much as such a conflict 
between the prophetic and the priestly as appears 
in the sermons of Amos and Isaiah. 

Although the wisdom and priestly strains run 
through the Psalter, one feels that it evinces pre- 
eminently the prophetic spirit, and even that its 
wisdom is largely prophetic wisdom and its worship 
prophetic worship. The poetic form, moreover, of 
the Psalms grows, perhaps, out of the early poem- 
oracles of the prophets and is most closely allied to 

*The Cambridge Bible, "The Psalms," Book I., page xi. 



2±S An Outline of Old Testament [§17 

the prophetic poems that constitute the principal 
portions of the prophetic writings. 8 
If 2. Read Psalm 1. 

(a) Observe that verse 1 seems to have an intro- 
ductory statement, "Blessed is the man/' followed 
by three, instead of two, synonymous lines, 

That walketh not in the counsel of the wicked, 
Nor standeth in the way of sinners, 
Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 

This is an interesting variation of the basic form 
of parallelism, comparable to the variations of the 
standard English forms: 1 compare §39, \\2. Verses 
2 and 5 are synonymous parallelisms of two members 
each; verse 3 contains first a synthetic parallelism 
in two members or lines, followed by two synony- 
mous lines completing the sentence and thus forming 
altogether a kind of synthetic stanza; verse 6 isj 
an antithetic parallelism. 

(b) The Psalm is evidently a wisdom Psalm. Its 
whole ideal is one of the wisdom, rather than of the 
duty, of doing right. The wicked are not like reb- 

a-As the question of prophetic poetic form is a vexed 
one, the problem was ignored in the study of the proph- 
ets and the emphasis placed on the prophetic message. 
More advanced study of the prophets should consider 
their poetic character, for the prophetic sermon style rises 
not out of homiletic exposition, but out of the earlier 
poem-oracles, as has been indicated. 

ir This Psalm presents, therefore, an interesting study 
in verse form. The instructor might decide at this point 
what emphasis he prefers to give to questions of poetry 
and meter: only a few further aspects will be specifically 
mentioned in the text. 



1)3] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 249 

els, but like chaff; and they are to perish or be ex- 
terminated, not punished. Note also the word 
"scoffer' 7 or "scorner." Verse 2 is in keeping with 
the wisdom doctrine which asserts the identity of 
wisdom and the law of Jehovah. The verse hardly 
presents a picture, as Briggs holds, of a "perfect 
scribe": this is a later ideal. 

Like most wisdom Psalms, the poem is more 
didactic than purely lyric, but it presents its lesson 
in very attractive imagery. 

(c) Do you think the words "walk," "stand," 
"sit," and "wicked," "sinners," "scoffers," absolutely 
synonymous as here used, or do they represent 
climaxes? 

(d) The American Standard Version is more 
accurate, but its use of the translation "Jehovah" 
instead of "Lord," while preferable in prose, detracts 
from the devotional and poetic effect of the Psalms: 
it is better therefore in this respect to follow the 
Authorized and the English Revised Versions. 

(e) Now, with these points in mind, 
Reread the Psalm. 

If 3. Read Psalm 2. 

(a) This Psalm reflects the priestly interest in 
the "holy hill" and wisdom's call to prudence; Jeho- 
vah, too, is moved to laughter at the foolishness of 
men rather than to anger at their insurrection: yet 
the Psalm represents the spirit of an ancient pro- 
phetic oracle against the enemies of the people of 
Jehovah. If it refers to a contemporary Hebrew 
king, it is in form quite like an ancient oracle; if it 



250 An Outline of Old Testament [§47 

has a predominantly Messianic meaning, it is an 
apocalyptic poem in the style of the ancient poem- 
oracle. 

(b) Note the odd line in verse 2. What sort of 
parallelism makes up the several verses of the Psalm? 

Observe that verses 1-3 describe the situation, 
verses 4-6 and 7-9 give Jehovah's attitude; verses 10 
to 12 are an exhortation to heathen kings. This 
division brings forward the question as to whether 
Hebrew poems are marked by strophes or stanzas 
as in English verse. Stanzas formed by repetition 
of the same verse form are later and artificial develop- 
ments of stanzas or strophes marked by changes of 
subject matter. The Hebrew poet, therefore, nat- 
urally needed stanzas. Sometimes his stanzas are 
artificially marked acrostically, for instance, as in 
Psalm 119, or by refrains, as in the Song of Songs, 
and in Psalm 99: 36, 5c, 9c, and 107:8, 15, 21, and 
31, etc. 

(c) The Psalm records a present rebellion and 
characteristically points to the real facts as they 
appear to the divine mind and as they will appear to 
men in the outcome. 

Reread the Psalm. 

If 4. (1) A constant problem of Old Testament 
thought arose out of the fact that the righteous 
often suffer excessively, and a constant note in the 
prophetic preaching was a clarion call to the faith 
that God rules in spite of appearances to the contrary 
and that deliverance and salvation are forthcoming. 
The enemy seems to have the better of Jehovah's 



If 5] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 251 

people, and the wicked men within the nation the 
better of the righteous. "How long will it remain 
so?" is the ever-recurring question, as has been seen 
in the study of the prophets. A constant longing 
for the reversal of the situation and for a vindication 
of the righteousness of Jehovah and of his worshipers 
breathes through the Psalms. Now, with these facts 
in mind, 

Read Psalms 3 to 7. 

A detailed study of each Psalm is impossible, as 
has been previously indicated. Mark the passages 
that strike you; but before using them as texts or 
putting too much faith in the English renderings, 
one should consult good commentaries. 

(2) There comes up here also the question of the 
"V and "me" of the Psalms. Many scholars think 
they represent usually the Hebrew nation, or at 
least the righteous "remnant" of the nation; others 
are equally insistent on the personal, individual 
experience expressed in the "I" and "me." Many 
on each side of the question make concessions, large 
or small, to the opposite view. Keep the question 
before you especially in considering assertions of 
personal intergity and imprecations upon enemies. 
Do not be too hasty in your decision; certainly you 
should not decide on the basis merely of the Psalms 
just read. 

If 5. Read Psalm 8. 

(a) Some think the chief subject of this Psalm to 
be the dignity of man, and that the translation of 
verse 4 should be "How great is man," etc. In this 
view the meaning is, "When I consider the heavens, 



252 An Outline of Old Testament [§47 

how great is man, that thou art mindful of him, 
rather than of them, and hast made him so great?" 
The more usual view is that the subject of the Psalm 
is God's praiseworthiness as indicated in the grace 
through which he chooses out insignificant man for 
abundant honor. 

(b) Verses 7 and 8 seem to the modern mind an 
anticlimax; but from the point of view of the ancient 
man the conquest of the animal world, by taming 
some and destroying others, was a mark of man's 
power and dignity comparable to steam, electricity, 
and aircraft to-day. 

(c) Now, catching the greatness of the thought in 
whichever of the two views you take and the depth 
of cosmic feeling upon either view, 

Reread Psalm 8. 

If 6. The next six Psalms reflect the same viewpoint 
as Psalms 3 to 7. Compare *J4 (1) and 

Read Psalms 9 to 13; then read Psalms 14 and 53. 
Observe that these last two are nearly alike: keep 
this fact in mind for further reference. They are of 
a distinctly wisdom type. Why? Compare 14 : la 
and 10:46, 6a, 11a. 

Psalms of the same general viewpoint frequently 
reflect different moods: compare 9:1, 10:1, and 13:1. 
Note the ever-recurring query, "How long?" 

If 7. The man whom God approves. 

Read Psalm 15. 

Observe that the priestly question of verse 1 is 
answered, not in ritual, but in moral terms. What 
are the points mentioned as characteristic of God's 
"guest-friend"? Compare the moral standard of the 



If 9] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 253 

Holiness Code, Leviticus 19; also compare Job 29: 12- 
16 and Romans 12. 

If 8. Next come three Psalms on the constantly 
recurring theme of the Psalter (compare If 4 (1) ). 
Noting particularly the familiar passages, especially 
in Psalm 16, and the description of Jehovah in 
Psalm 18, in the same strain as the Jehovah-speeches 
of Job, 

Read Psahns 16 to 18. 

Compare Peter's and Paul's uses of Psalm 16:10 
according to Acts 2: 25-31 and 13: 35-37. 

If 9. Nature declares God's glory and the law leads 
man to perfection — one of the great Psalms. 

Read Psalm 19. 

Toy counts this and Psalm 8 as wisdom Psalms — 
perhaps because they represent a philosophical ap- 
preciation of nature — and he identifies Hebrew 
wisdom with Hebrew reflective thought. It has 
been seen, however, that the prophets represent 
Hebrew philosophy not less than the wise men. 

The law of the Lord makes wise the simple (verse 
7) and is to be desired above gold for value and 
above honey for sweetness. This, of course, is the 
view of wisdom. But the commandments are also 
pure and the fear of Jehovah is clean (verses 8 and 
9), and the desire of the Psalmist is .to be "clear" 
(verses 12 and 13). What viewpoint is this? 

Briggs calls verses 7-14 didactic, but, though the 
subject may be a prosaic one for a lyric, these verses 
seem rather a lyric praise of the perfection of the 
law and a fervent prayer from the depths of the heart 
for a spotless life and for the divine approval. 



254 An Outline of Old Testament [§47 

IflO. The main theme of the Psalter recurs again 
in three Psalms, the last being the one Jesus recalls 
on the cross. 1 

Noting in Psalm 22 the fine phrase of verse 3, 
the skeptic's view (verse 7), the doctrine of verses 
26a and 28a and the two divisions — the present out- 
look, 1-21, and the future outcome, 22-31 — and re- 
calling the New Testament view of verse 18, 

Read Psalms 20 to 22. 

If 11. The universal favorite. 

The Old Testament's highest reaches of the figure 
of a shepherd in verses 1-4 pass in verse 5 into the 
figure of the human host and guest-friend. Animal 
life seems incapable of showing forth all that God 
does for his worshiper. Compare the way in which 
Jesus, after using a higher stretch of the shepherd 
figure in the parable of the lost sheep, passes into 
the figure of human love in the story of the prodigal 
son and his bereft father. The Psalm reflects in the 
highest degree the prophetic faith and trust. For 
further interpretation seek a good commentary, but, 
getting its full message of simple thankfulness and 
trust, 

Read Psalm 23. 

If 12. Psalm 24. 

Compare verses 3-6 with Psalm 15. Verses 1 and 
2 give one of the Bible's finest statements of the 
complete lordship of God. Verses 7-10 constitute 

'Some think Jesus quoted the whole Psalm or meant 
to refer to the whole by mentioning the first verse; but 
most think he expressed only the sense of complete for- 
sakeness contained in the first verse. 



If 14] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 255 

a striking picture of a triumphal entry: note its 
movement. Now 

Read the Psalm. 

^[13. Read Psalms 25-31 and 33-36— variant ex- 
pressions of the great theme of, first, the connection 
in the long run between sin and calamity, as over 
against the seeming prosperity of the wicked; and 
of, second, trust in the vindication of God and in 
the coming deliverance. Compare the several char- 
acters of the book of Job with sentiments expressed 
in these Psalms. Do you discern a deeper sense of 
sin here than in previous Psalms? This deeper 
sense of sin finds one of its classic expressions in 
Psalm 32, the next one to be considered. 

1fl4. The reward of the forgiven man. 

Perhaps this Psalm does not reach the spiritual 
height of the Great Penitential (Psalm 51): here, 
not so much the joy of forgiven sin as the good for- 
tune that follows the forgiven man seems, as shown 
in verses 6 and 10, the point of the Psalmist. Com- 
pare Psalm 1: there, too, "blessedness" means, likely, 
"good fortune"; but Psalm 32 goes beyond Psalm 1 
in the direction of the Pauline statement: not the 
sinless man, but the forgiven man (verse 1) and the 
trusting man (verse 10a) are blessed; not by obe- 
dience to law, but by grace and faith, comes salvation. 
Similarly Briggs remarks: 

In Psalm 1:1 the righteous man, who was entirely- 
conformed to the Law, was thus congratulated; here, the 
one who has been a transgressor, but now, after a period 
of divine chastisement, enjoys forgiveness and reinstate- 
ment in the divine favor. The three chief synonymous 



256 An Outline of Old Testament [§47 

terms for sin are used to comprehend it in all its forms: 
transgression, the violation of divine command whether 
oral or written in law; sin, the failure from the normal 
aim or purpose in life; iniquity, the perverse turning 
aside from the proper course of life. These forms of 
sin had incurred the divine displeasure, and had to be 
removed in order to a restoration to favor. Each term 
for sin has its appropriate predicate, which is not to be 
regarded as pecuilar to that conception of sin rather 
than any other, but is in order to balance the threefold 
sin, with a threefold deliverance from it.* 

Now, with these points in mind, and withholding 
final judgment on them until Psalm 51 is studied, 

Read Psalm 32. 

If 15. The great wisdom Psalm. 

Noting especially the summary in verse 11 of the 
trend of world forces and recalling its use by Jesus 
in one of the beautitudes, 

Read Psalm 37. 

The victory of the forces of democracy and peace 
over autocracy and the right of might illustrates how 
deeply the Psalmist read the facts and laws of life. 

Note that the observations in the Psalm are those 
of a typical sage, and that sin is viewed from the 
standpoint of its foolishness. 

1fl6. Four penitential Psalms. 

Read Psalms 38 to 41. 

Observe that the main theme of the Psalter 
frequently appears when it is not the dominant one 
or when a more individual and unique theme runs 
by its side. 

♦International Critical Commentary, "The Psalms," 
Vol. I., pages 276 and 277. 



If 17] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 257 

1f 17. Note that Psalm 41 : 13 is a doxology. Com- 
pare Psalm 72:18 and 19, 89:52, 106:48. The text 
of the Revised Version shows that these doxologies 
mark the end of successive books. Whether these 
"books' ' are later divisions in the Psalter made by 
the rabbis to correspond with the five books of Moses, 
or whether they represent successive collections of 
Psalms, need not be inquired into at this point. It 
is noteworthy, however, that older collections seem 
to be used in the Psalter. Observe that the first 
two Psalms are not attributed to any author: that 
there follows a group designated as Davidic. Some- 
times, as in Psalm 15, there appears a simple title 
like "A Psalm of David"; sometimes a further de- 
scription is given. Most of the Psalms of Book I. 
(Psalms 1-41) are thus marked as Davidic. The 
same is true, to a less degree, of Book II., at the 
close of which, following one headed "A Psalm of 
Solomon," is appended an interesting note. 

Read Psalm 72:20. 

The next book contains, nevertheless, one Psalm, 
the eighty-sixth, headed "A Prayer of David," and 
there are several attributed to David in the later 
books. Books II. and III. contain a number entitled 
"A Psalm (or Maschil) of the Sons of Korah" or 
"A Psalm of Asaph." Some scholars think that 
these facts point to several collections older than the 
present Psalter. Compare the collections of older 
poems called "The Wars of Jehovah" and "The 
Book of Jasher" (Num. 21 : 14, Joshua 10: 13, 2 Sam. 
1:18). Further evidence of such earlier collections 
of Psalms, many feel, is found in the way Psalm 14 
17 



258 An Outline of Old Testament [§47 

of Book I. appears, slightly modified, in Book II. as 
Psalm 53. 

If 18. Book II. opens with three Psalms on the 
main theme of the Psalter, two from the "Sons of 
Korah" group, and one (Psalm 43) anonymous unless 
it was originally a part of Psalm 42. Note the re- 
frain running through these two Psalms, 42:5 and 
11 and 43 : 5; compare also 42 : 96 and 43 : 26. Observe 
the favorite passage opening Psalm 42 and the doc- 
trine of grace as versus human strength in 44:3. 
These Psalms are especially plaintive and downcast 
in tone: at the close the way is dark. 

Read Psalms 42 to 44. 

If 19. Psalm 45 is in the same strain as the Song 
of Songs, and, like it, may have gotten its place in 
the Old Testament canon from an allegorical inter- 
pretation of its contents. 

Read the Psalm. 

Do you consider the Psalm allegorical or lit- 
eral? 

1J20. The next three Psalms strike a far different 
note from the last three on the main theme of the 
Psalter. The latter evinces a faint trust of the 
larger hope; these manifest a glorious realization of 
triumph and deliverance. Two of the three have 
been general favorites, Psalm 46 being in the Psalter 
what Luther's great hymn, "A mighty fortress is 
our God," is in the hymnology of Christendom. 
They are all from the "Sons of Korah" group, and 
many scholars think they were written in the days 
of Isaiah and Hezekiah on the occasion of the de- 
liverance of Judah from Sennacherib's invasion. 



J[23] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 259 

Compare §12, Tf4 and §13, U"4 and Byron's poem on 
"The Destruction of Sennacherib," there referred to. 
Now, 

Read Psalms 46 to 48. 

IT 21. Psalm 49 may be called the Ecclesiastes 
Psalm. It has the same interest in parable and 
saying (JEccl. 12:9), the same wavering and doubt 
(Ps. 44:10), and the same ethical note in its con- 
clusion. 

Read the Psalm. 

If 22. The next two Psalms exhibit the problem 
of true sacrifices. Two spiritual sacrifices are made 
supreme, it seems, thanksgiving and penitence. 
Psalm 51 is "The Great Penitential." If Psalm 32 
thinks of the blessings God has in store as offered 
not (as in Ps. 1) to the perfect, but to the forgiven, 
man, this Psalm goes as far beyond the thirty-sec- 
ond as it does beyond the first Psalm. It looks not 
to the outside blessings God may give, but to the 
inner joy of forgiven sin and restored communion 
(verses 11 and 12) and to a deliverance from the 
power of sin by a genuine regeneration (verse 10; 
compare Jer. 31:33, Ezek. 11:19, and §36, If 3 (2) 
and 1(9). 

With the problem of sacrifice in mind and opening 
your heart to the sense of sin and the yearning for 
the highest spiritual salvation and communion ex- 
pessed in the Great Penitential, 

Read Psalms 50 and 51. 

^[23. In the next thirteen Psalms the main theme 
of the Psalter is entwined with varying viewpoints. 
The present study cannot go into details regarding 



260 An Outline of Old Testament [§47 

each Psalm; therefore, with your mind on the look- 
out for the great passages and the variant notes, 

Read Psalms 52 to 64. 

Psalm 53 has already been considered in 1f6. 
Note, among other things (Ps. 55:17), the stated 
hours for Jewish prayer (compare Dan. 6:10); the 
expression of the one hope (56:9); the refrain of 
Psalm 62. 

1(24. The next four Psalms manifest the wider 
outlook of the prophets and their belief that the 
religion of Jehovah is a religion for the world. These 
Psalms set forth God's goodness as displayed in 
nature and in history. The climax of the Psalter's 
emphasis on the character of God is in 68:20, where 
he is designated as "a God of deliverances." Observ- 
ing especially the universalistic note, 

Read Psalms 65 to 68. 

If 25. The second book of Psalms closes with four 
more Psalms on the ever-recurring theme, the un- 
toward situation, and the waiting in faith, but in 
tempation to doubt, for God's coming deliverance 
and vindication of himself and his servants. Th3 
closing Psalm of this group, headed "A Psalm of 
Solomon," looks not to an intermediate but to a 
final triumph of God and his righteousness. Dwelling 
especially on Psalm 72, 

Read Psalms 69 to 72. 

Compare the several statements with those of Job 
and Eliphaz in the Job-poem. Note the spiritual 
view of sacrifice appearing again in 69:30 and 31. 

If 26. Book III. opens with five Psalms on the 
recurring theme. Note how persistent was the temp- 



fl29] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 261 

tation to skepticism — the pious author of Psalm 73 
had almost slipped (verse 2; compare 77:9, 10), and 
a large group openly say (verse 11) that God takes 
no cognizance of the affairs of men. Compare Job, 
Malachi 2:17 and 3:13-15, and various Psalms- 
Past deliverances, especially that of the Exodus, 
keep reminding faithful ones to hope in God. 

Read Psalms 73 to 77. 

IT 27. (1) Psalm 78 is a lengthy one on God's law 
and God's deliverances in the wilderness, in Egypt, 
and in Canaan; and on the rejection of Joseph or 
Israel, the Northern Kingdom, and the selection or 
election of Judah and David. 

Read the Psalm. Now, 

(2) Read Psalm 80:8-19 and Psalms 81 and 83, 
on the deliverances of God, especially that from 
Egypt; and Psalm 89, which promises permanence 
to the Davidic kingdom. Consider especially the 
ethical note in verse 14. Now, 

If 28. Read Psalms 79 and 80, on the question 
"How long?" and Psalm 82, which emphasizes, what 
is mentioned less prominently in other Psalms in 
this group, God's superiority to other deities. 

If 29. (a) Psalm 84 is a beautiful and deservedly 
popular one on the joy of worship. The Psalmist 
is probably not bemoaning the fate of the temple so 
much as envying the birds that build their nests 
there. 

Read Psalm 84. 

(6) Read also Psalm 87, on the one hand a glorifi- 
cation of Zion, on the other an outlook toward the 
world. Compare If 24. 



262 An Outline of Old Testament [§47 

If 30. Psalms 85, 86, and 88 are on the main theme 
of the Psalter, perhaps the most familiar and notable 
passage being 85 : 10. 

Read these Psalms. 

If 31. Book IV. opens with a familiar and truly 
great Psalm in the minor key. There is no more 
"pipe-organ-sounding" note in literature. It reflects 
the ever-recurring "How long?" and the sense of sin 
of the main theme and the penitential Psalms. The 
wisdom note appears in verse 12 and a genuine 
prophetic yearning in verses 16 and 17. 

Read Psalm 90. 

If 32. In quite a different strain is the next Psalm, 
also a general favorite. Its theme is the divine care 
and protection. Observing also the mystic feeling 
of verse la and recalling the New Testament use 
of verses 10-12, 

Read Psalm 91. 

1f33. Psalms 92, 94, and 102 are on the main theme 
of the Psalter. 

Read these Psalms. 

If 34. Almost a new note is struck in Psalms 93 
and 95 to 101 — a note of joyousness ("a new song," 
"a joyful noise," "The Lord reigneth," etc.). There 
is also a note of universalism, as in 95: 3, 96: 10, 97: 1, 
98:4, 100:1, and in the refrain of 96:13, 98:9. 
These Psalms contain many familiar and beautiful 
passages. 

Read Psalms 93 and 95 to 101. 

If 35. Psalm 103 catches some of the penitence and 
sense of forgiven sin of the Great Penitential; some 
of the depths of Psalm 90, though in a less noble 



fl37] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 263 

strain; and the note of thanksgiving of the Hallelujah 
Psalms soon to be studied, along with some of the 
faith and trust of the universal favorite (Ps. 23): 
no wonder it is so generally loved. 

Read the Psalm. 

If 36. (1) With the exception of thirteen, the re- 
maining Psalms of the Psalter belong to two groups. 
The thirteen will be treated first, and then the two 
groups. 

Psalm 108 seems to be made up of parts of two 
Psalms contained in Book II. Comparing Psalm 
108:1-5 with 57:7-11 and 108:6-13 with 60:5-12, 

Read the Psalm. 

(2) Read Psalm 109, on the recurrent theme. 

(3) Psalm 110 contains two passages on which 
New Testament Messianic doctrines are based: verse 
1, quoted by Jesus (Matt. 22:44) and again in Acts 
(2:34), and verse 4, which forms at least in large 
measure the basis of the Epistle to the Hebrews. 

Read Psalm 110. 

(4) Psalm 118 contains a well-known passage made 
use of in the New Testament (verse 22) and the re- 
frain "For his loving-kindness endureth forever," 
which refrain is even more recurrent in Psalm 136. 

Read Psalms 118 and 136. 

f 37. Psalm 119 is an acrostic, where, instead of 
a series of twenty-two lines or verses beginning with 
the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, each 
stanza of eight verses begins each verse with the 
same letter, the twenty-two stanzas using successive- 
ly the letters of the alphabet. It is a Psalm in praise 
of the law, emphasizing not the ritual or priestly, 



264 An Outline of Old Testament [§47 

but rather the legalistic, aspects. Here, rather than 
in the first Psalm* or the latter half of the nineteenth, 
is to be found the viewpoint of the ideal scribe who 
took his place in Judaism by the side of priest and 
wise man when the old-time prophecy had died out, 
or rather had divided and developed into apocalyp- 
ticism and scribism, respectively. Now, 

Read Psalm 119. 

If 38. One of the most pathetic and beautiful of 
the Psalms is one from the Babylonian exile evincing 
a deep longing for the homeland and the temple, 
and reflecting the limitations of the Old Covenant. 
Comparing verses 8 and 9 with Acts 7: 60 and verse 
4 with Acts 16:25, 

Read Psalm 137. 

If 39. Read Psalms 138 and 140 to 144 on the 
main theme of the Psalter. 

If 40. Psalm 139 is one of the great Psalms. It 
sets forth God's universal presence and knowledge 
and prays for divine searching and guidance. An- 
other phase of the divine nature — what God does 
in his loving-kindness and goodness — is set forth in 
Psalm 145. The two supplement each other admi- 
rably. 

Read Psalms 139 and 145. 

^[41. The first of the two groups referred to in 
If 36 is the Songs of Ascents, or Pilgrim Psalms as 
they probably are — songs of the pilgrimage or ascent 
to Jerusalem for worship. They form a beautiful 
series reflecting the joy of worship, the spirit of 

*As Briggs maintains. 



fl42] Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 265 

thankfulness for divine deliverances, and a sense ef 
trust in divine care and protection. Psalms 121, 
127, 133, and perhaps also 122 have been general 
favorites in the Christian Church. 

Read Psalms 120 to 134. 

1142. The Hallelujah Psalms. 

(1) These Psalms are so named because they have 
the Hebrew phrase "Hallelujah," "Praise ye Jah," 1 
either at the beginning or the end or at both. There 
is some variation in the extent of this group in the 
various versions, the Septuagint or Greek version, 
for instance, making some "hallels" that are not so 
in the Hebrew. 

(2) Psalm 104 praises Jehovah largely on the basis 
of his works in nature; 105 turns to his workings in 
history; 106 exhibits Jehovah's praiseworthiness in 
contrast with Israel's rebelliousness; and 107, which 
is not a "hallel" in the Hebrew or in the current 
English versions, builds itself around the refrain of 
verses 8, 15, 21, 31, and sets forth Jehovah's praise- 
worthiness under several aspects. 

Read Psalms 104 to 107. 

(3) The next group of hallels is Psalms 111 to 117. 
Read these Psalms. 

(4) Read Psalm 135, and sketch 136, which has 
already been studied in connection with its refrain. 

Psalm 135 contains one of the most explicit 
attacks on idolatry found in the Psalms. 

(5) It is fitting that the book of Psalms, after 
having traveled through the deeps of human expe- 

x Jah is a shorter form of Jehovah or Yahweh. 



266 An Outline of the Old Testament [§47 

rience and longing where the candle of faith burnt 
low, should end upon the heights of praise. The 
hallels, to change the figure, rise from mere state- 
ments of the rational grounds for praise in the 
earlier ones to what is in Psalm 150 a song with- 
out words, where the emotion and music of praise 
sounds like the close of a great oratorio. From 
the didactic assertion of the wisdom of righteous- 
ness in Psalm 1, through the shadows of doubt 
and the experiences of forgiven sin and simple trust 
to the heights of praise — what a journey! And 
how fitting it is to close a study of the prophecy, 
wisdom, and worship of the Old Testament with a 
study of that epitome of the best in religion, the 
Psalms! And how fitting that the Psalms should 
close with a final climax of praise! One might well 
remain with bowed head and heart in silent prayer 
and praise as he finishes this study by 
Reading Psalms 146 to 150. 



APPENDIX 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Instead of presenting an elaborate list of authori- 
ties, it is deemed best to name a few books that might 
serve further to open up the treasures of the Old 
Testament. The following are, therefore, recom- 
mended for purchase, not in bulk, but two or three 
at a time. The others should be secured when the 
first have been read. These remarks do not apply 
to the commentaries, which might well be used for 
reference at the very beginning of the study of the 
"Outline." A genuine student should not read mere- 
ly one side, but should endeavor to get as many 
viewpoints as possible, that he may be intelligent 
upon all aspects of Bible interpretation. One is not 
supposed to accept all one reads: he should read 
with a well-poised and discriminating mind. 
On the General Character of the Bible. 

"The Bible: Its Origin and Nature." Dods. 75 cents. 
On Old Testament Criticism. 

Anticritical: "The Impregnable Rock of the Holy Scrip- 
ture." Gladstone. 40 cents and $1.50. Or, "The High- 
er Criticism of the Pentateuch." Green. $1.50. 

Conservative: "The Problems of the Old Testament." 
Orr. $1-25. 

Critical: "Old Testament Criticism and the Christian 
Church." McPadyen. $1.50. 

On the Prophets. 

By rather general consent, whether one agree with his 
conclusions or not, the best exposition of Old Testament 

(267) 



268 An Outline of Old Testament 

prophets is the four volumes by George Adam Smith in 
the Expositor's Bible, "Isaiah," Volumes I. and II., and 
"The Twelve Prophets," Volumes I. and II. $1 per vol- 
ume. 

In shorter compass, but good, and including all of the 
prophets, as Smith does not, is Kirkpatrick, "The Doc- 
trine of the Prophets." $2.25. 

More conservative, and covering not only the prophets 
but the other phases treated in the present volume as 
well, is Sampey's "Heart of the Old Testament." 60 
cents. 

On Old Testament Wisdom. 

"The Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament." 
Davison. $1. 

"The Hebrew Literature of Wisdom." Genung. $2.25. 

On the Priestly Literature. 
"The Problem of the Old Testament." Orr. $1.25. 
"The Priestly Element in the Old Testament." Har- 
per. $1. 

On the Psalms. 

"The Praises of Israel." Davison. $1. 

The volumes of Kirkpatrick in the Cambridge Bible 
and of Davison and Davies in the New Century Bible. 
$1 each. 

Commentaries in Short Compass. 

Conservative: Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown. Two 
volumes. $4.50. 

Critical: Drummelow. One volume. $2.50. 

Commentaries for More Advanced Study. 

Those quoted in the Outline: Adam Clarke, Pusey, the 
New Century Bible, the Cambridge Bible, and the Inter- 
national Critical Commentary. 

For further bibliography see "The Best Books for 
Old and New Testament Study." Smith & Lamar. 
20 cents. 



Prophecy, Wisdom, and Worship 269 

Any or all of these books can be obtained from 
Smith & Lamar, Broadway and Ninth Avenue, 
Nashville, Tenn.; 1308 Commerce Street, Dallas, 
Tex.; or 900 East Broad Street, Richmond, Va. 
Write to nearest address for complete catalogue. 



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